An attorney representing rapper Fat Joe’s former hype man was arrested Wednesday, 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 for assault, the New York City Police Department said. Blackburn did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
The arrest is the latest in a 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 for other allegations including rape, forced labor, sex trafficking and fraud — all claims Tacopina called “false and outrageous” and “with utter disregard for truth or decency.”
As a result, Fat Joe filed a civil lawsuit against Dixon and Blackburn in April alleging extortion, defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
When the process server went to hand that paperwork to Blackburn, the attorney allegedly hit him with his vehicle, Tacopina said.
A warrant was issued for Blackburn’s arrest on Thursday, according to Tacopina. That same day, Blackburn and Dixon filed a $20 million federal lawsuit against Fat Joe in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
That lawsuit alleged the rapper forced Dixon to engage in thousands of sex acts with women, and also alleges he was underpaid, denied songwriting credits and threatened.
Tacopina previously told NBC News those claims were “complete fabrications” designed to damage the rapper’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 Diddy accuser producer Lil Rodney. In that case, Lil Rodney accused Combs of sexually harassing, drugging and threatening him. Combs’ attorneys denied those allegations.
