After being found not guilty of racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking, Diddy will have to remain in prison after his bail was denied again. The Bad Boy Records founder has spent nearly 10 months in jail, including through his two-month trial. On Wednesday (July 1), Judge Arun Subramanian set a sentencing for Oct. 3, but “the date could move up if Combs’ team seeks to expedite it.” The judge ordered all sides to return to court on Oct. 3 for sentencing but noted that the date could move up if Combs’ team seeks to expedite it. While he was acquitted of the more serious charges, the jury found Diddy guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend Cassie Ventura) and guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution (in connection with his ex-girlfriend who testified under the pseudonym “Jane”). During the proceedings, Subramanian noted that there was a “great divide” between the prosecution team and Diddy’s defense attorneys in sentencing. In response, Subramanian scheduled a remote status conference for Tuesday to get to the bottom of sentencing, saying, “time is of the essence.” Diddy’s lawyers team is seeking a term of 21 to 27 months. Prosecutors are seeking a prison term of 51 to 63 months. Douglas Wigdor, Cassie Ventura’s attorney, said in a statement that they expected Diddy to be convicted of the sex trafficking count involving her, which he said was the “most important count to her.” “I think that obviously she would be a lot happier if the jury had convicted on that. But she’s at peace with the verdict,” Wigdor said. “She is moving ahead with her beautiful family and her husband.”

As tensions remain high between DDG and Halle Bailey over custody of their son Halo, the rapper is already thinking about future fatherhood, just not in the traditional sense. During a recent livestream from Paris Fashion Week, DDG spoke candidly about possibly turning to fertility options if he decides to have another child someday. “If I’m 29 or something like that, and I ain’t got the time,” he said, “I’ll just go to that little place, do my little one-two, put my s**t in a cup. Take a little egg from somebody, throw it in another little body. Cook that motherf****r up for nine months. You can do that type s**t when you got money. That’ll alleviate a lot of s**t.” His comments come as he continues to battle Bailey in court over parenting rights. Earlier this year, Bailey was granted full custody of their 18-month-old son after accusing DDG of repeated physical abuse. A judge also issued a restraining order against him in May. In response, DDG filed his own legal claim, accusing Bailey of emotional manipulation and alleging that she has made threats involving self-harm. Bailey denied those claims, saying she is mentally sound and fully capable of caring for their child. Bailey is currently filming in Rome and has Halo with her. DDG has asked for permission to visit his son in Italy, but only under supervision. A judge has ruled that if the visits are approved, DDG will not be allowed to post any photos or videos of their son on social media. The former couple started dating in early 2022 and split in October 2024. Their son was born in December 2023. A court hearing to determine permanent custody arrangements is expected to take place this July in Los Angeles.

Mariah Carey has a new album on the way. During a recent interview at the 10th anniversary of Apple Music with Zane Lowe and Ebro Darden, Carrey made the announcement.  “I’m trying not to tell too much about the new album,” Carrey said.  “It’s a special occasion/ Mimi’s emancipation- that’s a lyric from one of my songs. What is next? The album is coming out,” she continued. “I don’t wanna tell too much about it because I just don’t want to reveal the whole thing. It’s finished.”  Carey dropped the news following the release of her newest single, “Type Dangerous.” She went on to say that the track was a “heavy record” and that it has “real weight to it.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Apple Music (@applemusic) The multi-Grammy award-winning vocalist also revealed that the new album has about 11 or 12 songs on it.  “We got some Mariah ballads,” she said, adding that a second single will be released soon. “I’m very excited about it. It’s very summery. I like the beat as well.” Sampling Eric B. and Rakim’s classic 1986 single, “Eric B. Is President”, she performed ”Type Dangerous,” along said Rakim at the 2025 BET Awards.  “I’ve always loved ‘Eric B. Is President.’ It wasn’t something like, ‘Oh, I’m gonna flip this’- I just wouldn’t think of doing it,” she explained. “But then we were in this restaurant in Aspen, and they had different music on, and they played ‘Eric B. Is President’ and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh! I love this song!’ We ended up in the studio a couple months later and we did it.”

Doja Cat is returning to pop music on her fifth album, Vie. Speaking with V Magazine, the Grammy-winning artist is embracing the genre after distancing herself from it. “I do want to be self-aware enough to admit the fact that this is a pop-driven project,” she said. “I know that I can make pop music, and pop is just that it’s popular. It starts to become a bit of a thing that’s viewed as a sport by people who are just bystanders to it, who enjoy it, but maybe also don’t respect it or what it is, which is just music. There are some people who don’t see it as music. They see it as if this is some kind of football for girls and gays.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by V Magazine (@vmagazine) Doja also said that she has been working on her vocal skills while creating the highly anticipated project. “Sometimes I’m surprised by what I can do now because I could not f**king sing… I have a lot more knowledge of how to use my voice as an instrument, more than I ever have in my life.” While Doja didn’t confirm a release date for Vie, her last album, Scarlet, dropped in September 2023 and marked a darker, more experimental turn away from the mainstream pop that initially catapulted her to fame. In a tweet in April 2023,  Doja said that pop was no longer “exciting” to her, and it changed her approach to making music. “I wanted to play with that nostalgia by using these Lo-Fi sounds and samples and things that reminded you of something from your childhood, but it wasn’t on the nose ’80s,” she said.

Dave Chappelle is questioning DJ Khaled’s silence on the war in Gaza While performing at the sold-out Etihad Arena as part of Abu Dhabi Comedy Season,  an audience member shouted out Khaled’s name, which led to Chappelle offering a critique of Khaled’s alleged failure to side with his people “DJ Khaled, let me tell you something,” he began. “For a Palestinian, this man is awfully quiet right now. And as a Palestinian, how could you be that quiet right now? And why are you so fat? People are starving. He’s the only fat Palestinian on Earth right now.” Since the conflict broke out in October 2023,  Chappelle has been passionate about the suffering of Palestinians. During a performance in Abu Dhabi, he desribed Israel’s actions as “genocide,” as the crowd cheered. Chappelle is not the only one who’s wondering about Khaled not taking a stance or doing anything to show solidarity with the Palestinian people. Back in February 2024, Fadie Musallet, Khaled’s cousin, expressed his disappointment over the “All I Do Is Win” super producer’s silence. “There’s no reason, there’s no excuse when you’re actually a Palestinian,” Musallet said during an interview. “For me, my mother lives there. We’re from the same village, same families. So, there’s no excuse… I do a lot of work with refugee camps, raise money for Gaza and the West Bank. I put my heart into this.” .

Suge Knight claims that Tupac Shakur’s friends smoked his cremated ashes following his death. Speaking with PEOPLE, Knight told the outlet that some of Shakur’s friends and family rolled the “I Get Around” rapper’s ashes into a blunt and smoked it. A bag with his ashes was passed around,” Knight said. “His homies rolled him up. They smoked him. You gotta understand, that’s what made sense. It was symbolic. It’s like… you keep part of him.” “I was so happy to say I was on probation — I couldn’t smoke,” Knight says. “I told his mother, ‘Mom, I’d love to, but if I hit that, I’ll get in trouble.’” He laughs. “I was probably the only one who didn’t hit him.” Knight also said that Afeni Shakur, Tupac’s mother, wanted to have her son cremated immediately without a funeral. Adhering to her request, Knight said he paid a million in cash to make sure her request was granted. By the end of that fateful night, Tupac’s inner circle paid tribute to him in an honorable way, On September 7, 1996, Shakur and Knight were ambushed at a red light after leaving the MGM Grand. Several shots were fired in Knight’s Bllack BMW. Shakur was shot four times, and Knight was grazed in the head. Knight recalled the tragic scene. “I got out and tried to tell the officers what happened while I was bleeding everywhere,” he says. “I then was getting Tupac out the car, even when the door was open. I had to go over there bleeding everywhere, take the seat belt off him.” Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, Shakur has sold more than  75 million records worldwide.

John Legend has responded to Kanye West’s saying that he smells like mashed potatoes. Back in March, West made the remarks while speaking to Akademiks dressed in an all-black ensemble reminiscent of KKK attire. “They say he smells like mashed potatoes,” West said at the time. “I don’t know where I got this from.” Appearing on HOT97’s Ebro in the Morning this week, Legend spoke about his former collaborator throwing shade at him. “He was very obsessed with the sweaters, and he said I smell like mashed potatoes,” Legend said. “What kind of potatoes? Cheesy, garlic?. … All of it makes me sad, though. All of it does. And it’s not for me because obviously, I smell great.” Elsewhere in the interview, Legend recalled working with West before they both had breakthrough success, and the Chicago rapper/producer had “so much energy and creativity and optimism.” He also noted the difference in West’s behavior and persona today. “Being a part of that was inspiring,” Legend recalled. “It was truly inspiring. That’s why it’s sad now. We did amazing things together as a collective, as a movement. … To be part of that was amazing. I have no regrets. Even though he’s gone, like, completely left now, I’m so glad that we did what we did together.” Along with the response to West, the EGOT winner is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his classic debut, Get Lifted, with a world tour. Legend shared the exciting news with his followers in March. “I’m so excited to announce that I’m heading back on the road for the Get Lifted 20th Anniversary Tour! Join me and my band for an unforgettable performance of the entire Get Lifted album—the album that introduced me to the world—plus a few favorites from my career that *all of you* know and love,” Legend shared at the time. After touring the European leg, Legend will be performing live throughout North America.

The jury in the federal trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs revealed Tuesday that they’ve reached decisions on most of the charges, but remain divided on one of the most serious accusations. After roughly 12 hours of deliberation, the panel informed the court they had agreed on four of the five counts but were unable to come to a consensus on the racketeering charge. According to a note sent to the judge, opinions were split with “unpersuadable jurors on both sides.” Inside the Manhattan courtroom, the atmosphere grew tense as Diddy sat quietly, shoulders low and visibly rattled. His team of attorneys gathered around him before the note was read aloud, and at one point, the music mogul was seen resting his head in his hands, clearly affected by the moment. Judge Arun Subramanian made it clear that the jury would not be permitted to deliver a partial verdict just yet. Both federal prosecutors and Combs’ defense attorney, Marc Agnifilo, urged the judge to push for continued deliberations instead of accepting the partial outcome. Combs’ legal team even requested that the jury receive the judge’s instructions in person to help resolve the impasse. The unresolved charge—racketeering conspiracy—holds the harshest possible penalty, including a life sentence. The other four charges, which the jury has reportedly decided on, relate to sex trafficking and transporting individuals for prostitution. Two of those counts involve allegations of trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, with one count linked to Cassie Ventura and another to a woman identified only as “Jane.” The remaining two charges accuse Combs of arranging travel for both alleged victims and commercial sex workers for the purpose of prostitution. As deliberations continue, the courtroom remains on edge, with both sides awaiting a final decision that could have sweeping consequences.

Tia Kemp is calling out Chrisean Rock for alleged harassment, claiming she’s been receiving late-night phone calls she believes are coming from Rock. In a livestream shared on July 1st, Kemp is seen confronting an unknown caller as the situation quickly escalates. In the video, Kemp picks up a call during her livestream and immediately questions who’s on the other end. The caller says something unclear before hanging up. Kemp, visibly annoyed, tries calling the number back but gets no response. She then turns the camera toward her phone, revealing a series of text messages. One of them reads, “stop talking about me and my son,” suggesting the caller had an issue with Kemp’s recent public remarks. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Shade Room (@theshaderoom) Kemp has been vocal online about her concerns for Chrisean Rock’s son, Chrisean Jesus Porter. She’s drawn attention to the child’s development and recently criticized Rock, saying the two-year-old still can’t walk or run. Kemp also urged Rock to seek professional help for the toddler. Before this series of late-night harassment, both Kemp and Rock were involved in separate drama with Blueface. In June, Blueface shared footage of his home looking trashed and claimed Rock no longer lived there. Rock fired back during her own livestream, denying the claims and accusing Blueface of physically abusing her while she was pregnant. She also offered encouragement to women in similar abusive situations. Now, the tension between Kemp and Rock is flaring up, with Kemp pointing fingers over the strange calls and texts. While Rock hasn’t directly addressed the latest allegations, things between the two women are clearly heating up, and the drama doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

Scott Storch recently had some harsh words for The Roots. The super producer claimed the legendary group were “haters” after he began working with Dr. Dre. Storch was a member of The Roots band from 1993 to 1995 and contributed to several albums after his departure Appearing on Patrick Bet-David’s podcast, he took aim the the Philadelphia rap legends, “I started in The Roots and did a lot of the stuff for them, very underappreciated. I was the guy who, again, came up with a lot of the nucleus of what that shit was,” Storch recalled. “And I left the group and was told that I was, like, the Pete Best of The Roots. You know, Pete Best is the guy that quit The Beatles.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Art Of Dialogue (@theartofdialogue)  “Even my girlfriend broke up with me and said, ‘Oh, you f**ked up’ and this and that. I was like, ‘No, I didn’t. I see bigger.’ I’m not gonna go on the road with a bunch of guys that don’t appreciate me and be like, ‘That’s the white guy who plays keys in The Roots.’ I’m the fucking guy coming up with all the sh*t,” he continued. “In fact, they called me the white devil.” Storch also shared he tried to help DMX kick his drug habit while he struggled with his own demons. It was like the blind leading the blind. I’m a coke addict and he’s a crack addict, and I’m trying to help him. I’m like, ‘[Snorts coke] you really need to get clean, man.’ What the fuck? I’m like, ‘You need to go to rehab.’ “So I convinced him to avoid a jail sentence for a charge he had or whatever. He went to rehab and was getting his shit together at a place where I had gone, but it didn’t really work for me. I had him there, I really did care about him, I wanted him off that shit. That was a faster suicide than I was even on.”