Rapper Fat Joe is accused of forcing his former hype man to engage in thousands of sex acts with women in a $20 million federal lawsuit that also alleges he was underpaid, denied songwriting credits and threatened.
Terrance “T.A.” Dixon filed the complaint against Fat Joe, members of his inner circle and Roc Nation in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Thursday.
An attorney for Fat Joe, whose real name is Joseph Antonio Cartagena, said the allegations are “complete fabrications” intended to damage the rapper’s reputation.
The lawsuit says that Dixon was the rapper’s hype man, or onstage entertainer, but that he also contributed as his lyricist, background vocalist, bodyguard and “creative collaborator” from about 2005 to 2022.
It alleges that Dixon wrote or co-wrote dozens of songs, including “Congratulations,” “Ice Cream,” “No Problems” and “Black Out.”
“Plaintiff contributed lyrics, melodies, vocal phrasing, and conceptual design to these works — substantially shaping their final form as distributed to the public,” the suit says.
Dixon was underpaid and denied songwriting credits, royalties and back-end compensation were deliberately concealed from him, according to the lawsuit.
Cartagena controlled Dixon through psychological manipulation, intimidation and persistent threats, the lawsuit says.
It alleges that Roc Nation either knew or should have known about the rapper’s behavior but took no action. Roc Nation, which is named as a defendant, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
The 157-page document, which comes with a “trigger warning” at the top, also details allegations of sexual abuse.
It alleges that Cartagena routinely took women back to his hotel rooms and forced Dixon to engage in sexual acts with them, sometimes in front of members of the rapper’s inner circle. According to the suit, Cartagena “frequently arranged and orchestrated these encounters, intentionally creating scenarios designed to reinforce Plaintiff’s complete submission.”
It accuses Cartagena of remaining in the room to watch, record and “provide explicit direction and commands.”
Dixon did not want to participate in the acts, the lawsuit says, but he did so “solely out of fear of immediate retaliation.” During one alleged incident, Dixon refused, and Cartagena canceled his flight home, stranding him with no money, the suit says.
Dixon estimated that over 16 years, he was “coerced into more than 4,000 sexual acts to maintain his standing within the enterprise.”
The lawsuit also alleges that Dixon witnessed Cartagena engage in sexual relations with 15- and 16-year-old girls.
Cartagena’s lawyer, Joseph Tacopina, said the lawsuit is a “blatant act of retaliation” and a “desperate attempt to deflect attention” from a lawsuit the rapper filed in April accusing Dixon and his attorney, Tyrone Blackburn, of extortion, slander and defamation.
Cartagena’s lawsuit says that things ended amicably with Dixon in 2019 and that it was not until years later that Dixon alleged that he had been underpaid while he was working with the rapper.
The suit says Cartagena compensated Dixon “handsomely” for assisting him on tour and denies Dixon’s allegations that the rapper had sexual relations with minors. It further accuses Dixon and Blackburn of trying to extort Cartagena for money.
“We didn’t just sue a disgruntled former employee trying to revive a false claim from 15 years ago — we sued the lawyer behind it all,” Tacopina said in a statement.
“The allegations against Mr. Cartagena are complete fabrications — lies intended to damage his reputation and force a settlement through public pressure. Mr. Cartagena will not be intimidated,” he said. “We have taken legal action to expose this fraudulent campaign and hold everyone involved accountable.”
In response, Blackburn said Friday that Cartagena “is desperate and grasping for straws.”
“We met with law enforcement; let’s wait and see who they believe,” he said.
The lawsuit says Dixon suffered severe emotional injuries, including chronic anxiety, debilitating fear and symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder. He remains in trauma-informed therapy, the suit says.
