An attorney representing rapper Fat Joe’s former hype man was arrested Wednesday and accused of hitting a process server with his car in New York City.
Attorney Tyrone Blackburn, 40, was taken into custody Wednesday morning and booked on suspicion of assault, New York police said. Blackburn did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The arrest is the latest in the back-and-forth between Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Antonio Cartagena, and his former hype man Terrance "T.A." Dixon and Dixon's lawyer, Blackburn.
According to Fat Joe's attorney, Joe Tacopina, it all started on March 23 when Dixon and Blackburn sent the rapper a written demand letter seeking money for being a “ghostwriter and uncredited vocalist” on some of Fat Joe's songs.
Fat Joe disregarded the demands, but on April 21 Blackburn and Dixon sent a follow-up demand letter threatening to file a lawsuit not just for unpaid wages, but also for other allegations, including rape, forced labor, sex trafficking and fraud — all claims Tacopina called “false and outrageous” and said were made “with utter disregard for truth or decency.”
As a result, Fat Joe sued Dixon and Blackburn in April alleging extortion, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
When the process server went to hand the paperwork to Blackburn, Blackburn hit him with his vehicle, Tacopina alleged.
A warrant was issued for Blackburn’s arrest Thursday, according to Tacopina. The same day, Blackburn and Dixon filed a $20 million federal lawsuit against Fat Joe in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
That lawsuit alleged that Fat Joe forced Dixon to engage in thousands of sex acts with women and that Dixon was underpaid, denied songwriting credits and threatened.
Tacopina has told NBC News those claims were “complete fabrications” designed to damage Fat Joe’s reputation.
“Tyrone Blackburn’s arrest comes as no surprise to me — it’s just the latest example of his malicious and manipulative pattern of misconduct finally coming to light,” Tacopina said in a statement Wednesday.
“Blackburn is an embarrassment to the legal profession and it’s a disgrace watching him use the court system to shield his extortion tactics. This is exactly why Mr. Cartagena proactively sued Blackburn and his client Terrance Dixon in April because he knew they intended to try to destroy his reputation by peddling salacious lies," he continued. "Today’s arrest is just the first step, but I’m confident that my client’s name will be cleared from all of these falsehoods and Blackburn will be brought to justice once and for all.”
Blackburn has represented high-profile clients in the past. In February 2024, he filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Sean "Diddy" Combs accuser, producer Lil Rodney. In that case, Lil Rodney accused Combs of sexually harassing, drugging and threatening him. Combs' attorneys denied the allegations.
