Busta Rhymes charged with assault after Brooklyn incident

“Break Ya Neck” rapper Busta Rhymes (a.k.a. Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr.) was arrested and charged with assault in the third degree on Tuesday, law enforcement officials confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. The incident occurred in the Dumbo neighborhood of Brooklyn on Friday night, where a 50-year-old man called in to report past harassment, including multiple punches from a then-unidentified assailant. Officials told the outlet that the victim experienced swelling on the left side of his face and was transported to a New York City hospital, where he is in stable condition.

Per the New York Post, Rhymes turned himself in after the January 10 incident. He allegedly lashed out at the victim, his assistant Dashiel Gables, for being on his phone during work. In a conversation with the Post, Gables said his lawyers cautioned him against speaking to the press. “Maybe later. Maybe in the future. I can’t mess up my case, bro. It’s just not going to be worth it,” he reportedly said. “An article in the paper as opposed to a six or seven-million-dollar settlement? I’m not risking it, sorry.” Representatives for Rhymes did not provide a comment to either outlet. 

This isn’t the first time Rhymes has lashed out against modern phone usage. “Ayo fuck them camera phones, too. Let’s get back to interacting like humans,” he said in an onstage rant at the 2024 Essence Festival of Culture after watching audience members scrolling during his set, per People. “Put them weird ass devices down,” he continued. “I ain’t from that era. Them shits don’t control the soul. Fuck your phone!” He went on to call out individual audience members, promising to “point every last one of y’all out until y’all asses is up.”

It’s also not the rapper’s first brush with the law. In 1998, he was arrested for a gun possession charge, to which he ultimately pleaded guilty in 2000. The charge resulted in five years of probation. In 2008, he also pleaded guilty to assault and drunk driving charges stemming from several incidents, including an accusation from his driver that the rapper had attacked him during a pay dispute, an admission to police that he’d had a shot of cognac before driving, and another accusation of attacking a fan during the AmsterJam Music Festival. He received three years of probation for all of these incidents. He was arrested again in 2015 after throwing a protein drink at a gym employee. He pleaded guilty to a non-criminal harassment charge and agreed to attend anger management classes as a result.

Per the Post, Rhymes’ next court date for the alleged assault is on February 2.