TMZ Hip Hop

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.

Nelly is at his wits' end with fans painting him as a traitor to his race after the "Country Grammar" creator performed at the Donald Trump inauguration event at the top of the year ... he figures he's more pro-Black than their failed candidate!!!

The rap megastar has been fending off critics during his press run for his "We Belong Together" reality series with wife Ashanti ... especially when he stepped into The Shade Room and took aim at Kamala Harris!!!

Nelly highlighted his and Snoop Dogg's monetary support towards Historically Black Colleges and Universities over the years, before flipping the switch on the ex-V.P. and her hubs, Doug Emhoff -- labeling them "the woman of color with the white husband and white kids."

Lizzo says it's a "Lizzo-Wayne summer" with her new mixtape "My Face Still Hurts From Smiling" ... and, she's got a couple great opportunities for collaboration.

We caught up with the singer-songwriter Friday in Los Angeles ... and, we had to ask about the new tape -- which she released earlier in the day -- that she says is totally inspired by Houston.

She told Billboard in an interview the mixtape was inspired by Lil Wayne ... so, we wanted to know which track she'd want Wayne to feature on -- and, for the remix, sounds like "Bend It Over" is her pick.

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are introducing their youngest to high fashion ... but, he's not quite old enough to hit the club scene with his parents after.

The A-listers brought their boy Riot to Rocky's AWGE fashion show during Paris Fashion week in France ... posing and planting kisses on his cheeks in a a few sweet snaps taken at the event.

Check out the pic ... perfect for a family Christmas card with big smiles -- though Riot seems a pensive during the whole experience.

There's absolutely no denying Diddy's insatiable appetite for freak-offs, which has been on full display throughout his federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial.

After 7 weeks of witness testimony -- much of it centered around Diddy's freak-off obsession -- the case will be handed to the 12-person jury on Monday, and they will start deliberating on whether to acquit or convict Diddy on five felony charges.

Here's the thing ... If Diddy walks on all of the charges and strolls out of court a free man, one question immediately comes to mind -- will the music mogul go right back to freaking-off with girlfriends, male escorts and, of course, baby oil?

Lizzo is giving mermaid vibes in her latest swimsuit selfie ... showing off her recent weight loss in a colorful one-piece with long, flowing bleach-blonde hair to complement!

Check out the pop singer's latest Insta post ... she's exuding confidence in a shimmering coral and purple one-piece as she gets oil lathered all over her body.

She even turns around to give fans a glimpse of her derriere -- showing she's here to make waves with her good looks all summer long.

Sauce Gardner is peeling back the curtain on his love life ... telling TMZ Sports things are pretty "cool" with Ice Spice -- and as it turns out, LeBron James had a role in their coupling!!

We caught up with the New York Jets star out in L.A. this week ... and asked him all about his budding romance with the rapper.

While Sauce didn't sing like a bird, he did say he liked how things were going ... and raved about all they have in common -- being based in the Big Apple, experiencing success at a young age and having their fair share of haters.

It's the final countdown ... closing arguments in the Diddy criminal trial are now in the books after an explosive day in court ... with the defense taking aim at Cassie and Jane, and prosecutors getting the last word.

Diddy's defense attorney Marc Agnifilo put on a big show handling the defense's closing argument all by himself ... getting dramatic and theatrical as he paced before the jury and explained why he feels the charges against his client are bogus.

With Diddy's family watching from the gallery, Agnifilo told jurors Diddy was a victim of the government's bedroom policing ... and he warned us all, we could be the next targets if the feds don't like the way we have sex ... as he says was the case with Diddy.