Day: October 13, 2025

Tyrone Blackburn is pushing back against Fat Joe’s $20 million defamation lawsuit, arguing that the claims made by the rap star’s former hype man should be legally viewed as opinion, not fact.

Terrance Dixon’s legal team, led by Blackburn, is leaning on a recent ruling involving rapper Drake to bolster their defense.

In that case, Drake sued UMG for defamation, claiming they knowingly promoted false claims contained in Kendrick Lamar’s smash hit “Not Like Us.”

Drake claimed his reputation was damaged after Kendrick Lamar branded him a “certified pedophile,” similar to claims Dixon made against Fat Joe on social media.

A judge ruled that statements made in the context of rap battles were protected artistic expression and that a reasonable listener would not consider the offensive lyrics verifiable facts.

Dixon and Blackburn argue that the statements at the heart of Fat Joe’s complaint were made during a heated public feud and should be protected under the First Amendment as expressive speech.

The defense also emphasized that because Fat Joe is a public figure, the lawsuit must prove “actual malice” — a high legal bar requiring proof that the statements were knowingly false or made with reckless disregard for the truth.

The dispute dates back to March 23, 2025, when Blackburn sent a letter to Fat Joe, claiming that Terrance Dixon had served as an uncredited ghostwriter and vocalist from 2006 to 2019.

When Fat Joe didn’t respond, a second letter followed on April 21, threatening a lawsuit and public exposure unless the rapper paid up.

The legal battle began in court later that month, when Fat Joe filed a lawsuit accusing Terrance Dixon and Blackburn of defamation and extortion.

The suit alleges they demanded a $20 million payout in exchange for not filing a lawsuit containing what Fat Joe called “false and outrageous” claims, including allegations of statutory rape, sex trafficking and forced labor.

Dixon also posted on social media, accusing Fat Joe of transporting a 16-year-old girl across state lines for sex, attaching a photo featuring Fat Joe, Diddy and DJ Khaled.

Fat Joe fired back, calling the accusations “a criminal conspiracy orchestrated between a disgruntled former hype man and his attorney” and described their actions as “a deceptive and desperate scam.”

His attorney, Joe Tacopina, referred to Blackburn’s tactics as a “criminal extortion scheme” and pointed to previous court rulings criticizing Blackburn’s legal conduct.

In one case, Judge Denise Cote said Blackburn “improperly files cases in federal court to garner media attention, embarrass defendants… and pressure defendants to settle quickly.”

Fat Joe’s legal team has fought the lawsuit tooth and nail.

In fact, the response has been so blistering that last week, Tyrone Blackburn told a judge that Joe Tacopina’s public attacks on him sent him to the hospital under medical distress.

​AllHipHop

Termanology and fellow Massachusetts-bred rapper Sumit recruited Wu-Tang Clan legend Method Man for the new single and video “Ammunition.”

Method Man sets off the track with lyrical gymnastics, packing what feels like a million words into one rhyme over hard hitting drums and infectious horn loop set by Term and Melks.

“Method Man is a hip-hop legend,” Termanology tells AllHipHop. “I am so thankful that he decided to do this song. He pulled up to the video shoot ready to rock, happy, dancing and knowing all the lyrics. In 2025 that is a HUGE deal. I love working with Method man because he’s so cool. He is one of the best rappers of all time. Also he always shows love to the underground.”

Termanology has more than 20 years invested into the culture, with his first album, Hood Politics, arriving in 2003. After rising to prominence with the DJ Premier-produced single “Watch How It Go Down” in 2006, he followed up with the album Politics as Usual and went on to build a vast discography that includes highly regarded collaborations like 1982 with Statik Selektah and Fizzyology with Lil’ Fame. More recently, he did two collaborative albums with Paul Wall, Start 2 Finish (2022) and Start Finish, Repeat (2023), which both smashed Spotify’s one million streams mark.

He’s also the founder of the Good Dad Gang, a movement that encourages responsible fatherhood, and owns the record label ST. Records. Throughout his career, Termanology has released more than 50 projects, working with a wide range of notable artists and producers while consistently upholding a style rooted in gritty, lyrical storytelling and authentic street perspective.

As for Method Man, he wrapped up the Final Chamber Tour with his Wu-Tang brethren in July. He’s reportedly working on a new collaborative album with Havoc from Mobb Deep, Dirty P, which is set to be released in the near future after several delays caused by the COVID-19.

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Earl “DMX” Simmons’ longtime manager and uncle, Ray Copeland, known in the music industry as Uncle Ray, says he figured out how to cover the late rapper’s funeral costs after record labels and music associates refused to contribute.

In an exclusive interview with AllHipHop, Copeland said he pulled together a consortium of people that put up $150,000 to organize DMX’s 2021 funeral. Copeland said he initially received little to no financial support from Ruff Ryders, Def Jam Records or other industry figures who were closely affiliated with the artist.

“When it was time to bury X, I was on the phone with everybody, Ruff Ryders, Swizz Beatz, Steve Rifkind, Def Jam,” Copeland said. “I told them what it was going to cost. Everybody said, ‘I ain’t got it.’ So I hung up the phone and said, ‘Forget it. I’ll put this together myself.’”

Copeland said the entire funeral, including the high-profile memorial at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, was arranged through his own efforts, with help from business associate Germaine Miller and attorney Ron Sweeney.

“If it were not for Germaine Miller, I would have never buried my nephew financially. She put all the money up for the funeral – all $150,000,” Copeland said in a text message outside of an in-studio interview.

At WonWorld Studios, he explained that he did get help later, but it did not cover everything. “Def Jam [later] gave me $35,000, that’s it. They later told the media they paid for the funeral. That’s not true. Kanye West took care of everything at the Barclays Center,” he said.

DMX died on April 9, 2021, at the age of 50, following a heart attack. His death sparked an outpouring of tributes from fans and peers, but Copeland says that when the time came to handle his burial, few stepped forward to help financially.

“This man made us all millionaires,” Copeland said. “And I had to fight to put this together with my family.”

He confirmed that the rapper did not have a life insurance policy. “Thank God for people that loved him and good relationships,” he said.

Copeland also disputed several details about the public perception of DMX’s funeral, including viral images showing a red monster truck carrying a casket through Brooklyn.

“X was not on top of that truck,” he said. “I wouldn’t allow it because it wasn’t safe. His body was in the hearse behind me going to the Barclays Center. He didn’t leave the funeral home until the day of the service.”

He said he even considered holding a private funeral in Bronxville, New York, before deciding to proceed with a public memorial after speaking with family members.

“I almost did it right there in Bronxville,” Copeland said. “I had all the family together. But they told me, ‘Ray, you can’t do that. The public needs to say goodbye.’ So I finished it out.”

DMX, a Yonkers native, rose to fame in the late 1990s with Ruff Ryders Entertainment and Def Jam Recordings, releasing a string of multi-platinum albums including It’s Dark and Hell Is Hot and Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood. Known for his raw energy, gravelly voice, and spiritual depth, he became one of the defining artists of Hip-Hop’s golden era.

Despite his commercial success, Copeland said DMX often felt disconnected from the industry and wary of those around him.

“He always said, ‘I ain’t got no friends in the industry,’” Copeland recalled. “And he was right. When he passed, it showed.”

The funeral at Barclays Center drew thousands of fans and featured tributes from his family and musical peers. However, Copeland’s remarks cast new light on what was happening behind the scenes, raising questions about accountability and loyalty within the music business.

“Everybody put out statements, hashtags, and tributes,” Copeland said. “But when it came time to actually do something…silence.”

Attempts to reach reps for Def Jam and Ruff Ryders Entertainment were unsuccessful.

This was Uncle Ray’s first interview. The full conversation with Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur and DJ Thoro will be released soon.

​AllHipHop

Pusha T and Malice—collectively known as Clipse—spoke to The Hollywood Reporter recently about their critically acclaimed comeback album, Let God Sort ‘Em Out.

During the candid conversation, which dove deep into the grief following the back-to-back deaths of their parents and captured brilliantly in “The Birds Don’t Sing” featuring John Legend, King Push revealed one of his next goals—the cover of fitness magazine Men’s Health.

Now 48, his attention to exercise and diet was sparked when he found out he he was going to be a father.

“As far as physical health, I’ve said that one of my goals is to be on the cover of Men’s Health,” he said. “I’ve made that a goal. And I have a five-year-old. For me, my whole workout is rooted in him. Everything that I do is really rooted in making sure I’m able to keep up and am in just the best possible shape and health to run around and keep up with his activity with how active he is. It’s a task, but I made that decision when I had him. I was going to stay focused and stay dedicated to just eating and working out and being active.”

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Malice, his older brother by five years, is also focused on maintaining physique and often shares his gym routines on Instagram. It’s an important topic considering the number of Hip-Hop legends who have died over the last few years at relatively young ages—from MF DOOM, De La Soul’s Trugoy the Dove and DJ Clark Kent to DJ Kay Slay, Living Legends’ Aesop and Kangol Kid.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Thornton brothers talked about the vindication they felt in the wake of Let God Sort ‘Em Out‘s success. The album debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and is looking at multiple Grammy nominations—all without Def Jam Recordings.

“I feel like it was vindicating in a lot of different instances,” Push said. “We knew when we had made the music that we hadn’t lost a step. It was funny to watch during the process people just second guess it. We’re very, very sacred with the music. We don’t let a lot of people in. But those that did get to reach in and peek their head inside, it’s a lot to get caught up in musically. It’s a lot of different things. It’s a lot of popularity contests. It’s a lot of different politics and barometers of greatness.”

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Malice added, ” I think the beauty of it was the fact that we really have faith in the music. We really believe in what it is that we do—from the production to the lyrics and just the way that we collaborate and just putting everything together. When we see the politics and we see the back and forth and we’re not quite certain how it’s going to land—because we’ve had label dramas throughout our entire career—I had a calm because I knew when the dust settles, the music is going to get heard, and that’s when it’s our time—when the music gets heard.”

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Wendy Williams slammed her pricey New York City assisted living residence as a “dump” during a rare phone interview, as her court-ordered guardianship and health issues continue to stir controversy.

Coterie Hudson Yards is described as lavish, with marble floors, fresh lilies, a crystal chandelier, 24/7 nursing care, a private theater, spa and salon. Her 360-square-foot studio suite comes with a steep monthly cost.

The 60-year-old former daytime TV host currently lives on the memory care floor of the luxury facility, which charges $25,800 per month.

Despite the upscale amenities, Williams said she’s miserable. “Did you see the people? The elderly people? Why do I want to look at that? This is a f—-d-up situation,” she told The Cut. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked that I be moved from this floor.”

Williams’ estate also covers her guardian Sabrina Morrissey’s fees, a $10,000 monthly retainer for her personal attorney and other legal expenses. In 2024, lawyers flagged concerns about her financial situation.

Morrissey sold Williams’ 2,400-square-foot condo at a loss and rehomed her two cats.

Placed under guardianship in 2022, Williams has limited freedom. The memory care floor is locked, and she needs approval from both the facility and her guardian to leave. She has no cell phone access and can only make outgoing calls from a landline.

In February 2024, Williams’ team announced she had been diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia and progressive aphasia. Still, Williams denies having dementia.

Her ex-husband, Kevin Hunter, filed a $250 million lawsuit in June to terminate the guardianship, calling it “fraudulent bondage.” He also accused the judge in the case of being “crooked.”

A judge dismissed the lawsuit on October 9, but Hunter can refile. Williams and Hunter divorced in 2019 after she discovered he had fathered a child with another woman during their 21-year marriage.

Hunter had been receiving $37,500 monthly in alimony before the guardianship halted payments.

Williams’ attorney Joe Tacopina has been outspoken about the case. “She’s the same Wendy Williams that you know from TV. She’s a person who’s in control of her faculties and is a great human being,” he told TMZ in July.

Tacopina said the guardianship is “scary” and “it’s hard to get out.” He confirmed plans to sue those involved, calling the arrangement “basically, incarceration.”

He added, “This whole thing is about money, money, money, money,” and called the legal process “despicably slow.”

Despite her restricted living situation, Williams has made public appearances. She attended New York Fashion Week in September.

A new medical evaluation is expected in the coming weeks. The judge could maintain the guardianship, reduce restrictions, replace Morrissey or end the arrangement.

​AllHipHop