Fat Joe Lawsuit: Roc Nation Wants Out of Case, Says It Has ‘Nothing to Do With Any of This’

Roc Nation wants out of an explosive new lawsuit accusing Fat Joe of victimizing his longtime hypeman via a wide-ranging criminal enterprise, saying it’s “nonsensical” to suggest the rapper’s management company was involved in any of the scandalous behavior alleged in the case.

Jay-Z’s entertainment company was among a slew of people and companies named last week in Terrance “T.A.” Dixon’s lawsuit against Fat Joe (Joseph Cartagena). Dixon, Fat Joe’s hypeman for over a decade, said he was forced to work without pay while being subjected to psychological manipulation and exposed to sexual misconduct, including the trafficking of underage girls.

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The claims in Dixon’s Thursday (June 19) complaint, which Fat Joe has fiercely denied and characterized as extortion, are framed as a racketeering enterprise abetted by Roc Nation and other outside entities. But Roc Nation’s attorneys quickly filed a motion to dismiss on Monday (June 23), saying the company “has nothing to do with any of this.”

“Roc Nation’s alleged role in this case — according to plaintiff himself — is that it became Mr. Cartagena’s artist management company in 2017, and in that capacity, earned a commission on revenue Mr. Cartagena generated,” writes Roc Nation’s lawyer Alex Spiro. “Yet, according to plaintiff, the fact that Roc Nation had a business relationship with Mr. Cartagena somehow makes Roc Nation part of a RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] enterprise, a participant in sex trafficking, and an aider-and-abettor of Mr. Cartagena’s alleged conduct. That is nonsensical.”

According to Monday’s motion, there’s not a single factual allegation in the complaint that ties Roc Nation to any of Fat Joe’s alleged wrongdoing. Dixon’s lawsuit claimed the management company was responsible for his withheld wages, but Spiro says Roc Nation only manages Fat Joe’s catalog, publishing rights and intellectual property.

“How Roc Nation supposedly knew of this deplorable alleged conduct is a mystery,” writes Spiro. “He does not assert how Roc Nation’s management of Mr. Cartagena’s music business gave it insight into how much plaintiff should have been paid, what he was paid, or any venture to deprive him of adequate compensation.”

In a statement to Billboard on Monday, Spiro says, “Roc Nation has nothing to do with any of this. Nothing. And we expect this case to be dismissed.”

Reached for comment on Monday, Dixon’s attorney Tyrone Blackburn tells Billboard he will oppose Roc Nation’s motion to be dismissed from the case.

“I am happy to see that Roc Nation was smart enough to distance itself from Fat Joe and his RICO enterprise,” adds Blackburn. “The plaintiff has no personal animosity towards Roc Nation or its leadership.”

Dixon’s case against Fat Joe was actually preceded by the rapper suing Dixon and Blackburn for extortion. Two months ago, Fat Joe filed a lawsuit accusing the former hypeman and his attorney of trying to extract a settlement with “wholly fabricated” and “grotesque” claims of pedophilia.

In a statement after Dixon filed his own lawsuit last week, Fat Joe’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said they’ll continue to fight the claims and that “law enforcement is aware of the extortionate demand at the heart of this scheme.”

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Smokey Robinson Rape Accusers Slam Singer’s Defamation Claims, Say Press Conference Was Fair Game

Smokey Robinson’s former housekeepers say they had the right to hold a press conference publicizing an explosive rape lawsuit against the Motown legend and are asking a judge to toss defamation counterclaims in the contentious legal proceedings.

A motion filed Friday (June 20) takes issue with the countersuit Robinson filed after four anonymous former housekeepers brought a $50 million civil lawsuit accusing the 85-year-old singer of a yearslong pattern of sexual assault.

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Robinson and his wife, who’s also named as a defendant in the housekeepers’ case, said the rape allegations are fabricated and defamatory. While claims in legal filings are typically shielded from defamation lawsuits by the First Amendment, the Robinsons argued the accusers stepped outside these protections when they “paraded themselves in front of the media” with a press conference the day the lawsuit was filed.

The housekeepers’ lawyers disagree. In Friday’s motion to strike the counterclaims, attorneys for the accusers say their press conference was actually covered by the so-called litigation privilege and therefore cannot be the subject of defamation claims.

“The statements underlying the Robinsons’ claims, delivered by counsel for Jane Does during a press conference, concern a pending civil lawsuit involving serious allegations of sexual misconduct and are explicitly tied to that litigation,” write lawyers John Harris and Herbert Hayden. “The Robinsons’ cross-complaint is entirely without merit and appears to be a retaliatory and improper effort to chill the Jane Does’ right to speak out and to access the courts.”

Friday’s motion also criticizes the Robinsons for trying to “mislead” the court by including only partial quotations from the press conference in their countersuit, including a reference to Harris calling Robinson a “serial and sick rapist.” The housekeepers’ attorneys say Harris actually said, “We believe that Mr. Robinson is a serial and sick rapist” — an important qualifier that couches this statement as an opinion and not a fact.

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The housekeepers are asking a Los Angeles judge to strike the counterclaims under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which clears the way for quick dismissal of defamation claims that threaten free speech. Under this law, the accusers can also make the Robinsons reimburse their legal fees if they win the anti-SLAPP motion.

The Robinsons’ attorney, Christopher Frost, said in a statement to Billboard on Monday (June 23) that Friday’s motion is “all just procedural posturing.”

“While the law may allow them to make false and slanderous allegations in a complaint with impunity, it does not allow them to orchestrate a press conference to regurgitate the same lies,” said Frost.

Frost said the housekeepers’ “transparent motivation” is to use the anti-SLAPP motion as a tactic to slow down the litigation, echoing allegations in his own court filing last week that accused the women of trying to delay the discovery process.

“It is puzzling to us why they would want to do so if they really believed in their case,” added Frost.

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Photos From the BMAC Juneteenth Weekend Celebration of Black Music

Saluting the joy and power of Black music. Commemorating freedom. Honoring the legacy of the Godfather of Soul, James Brown. That was the three-pronged celebration behind the “Say It Loud! I’m Black and I’m Proud!” Juneteenth Summit that took place on Saturday (June 21), hosted by the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), Primary Wave and the Universal Music Group Task Force for Meaningful Change.

The invite-only event was held at Brown’s estate, located 6 miles outside the legend’s boyhood town of Augusta, Georgia. The occasion also marked the fifth anniversaries of both BMAC and UMG’s Task Force. “Celebrating BMAC’s fifth anniversary and Black Music Month during Juneteenth weekend at the estate of the legendary James Brown was surreal,” said BMAC co-founder and CEO/president Willie “Prophet” Stiggers. “Mr. Brown released ‘Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud! in 1968 before the height of the Black Power Movement. He put it all on the line.”

Noting also that Brown kept slave shackles in his closet as a reminder of America’s dark history, Stiggers added, “While we were waiting for our 40 acres and a mule, Mr. Brown bought 70 acres and a private jet down the road from one of the most ruthlessly brutal plantations [Redcliffe Plantation] in the South. Our survival, our excellence and our joy; [are] a testament to the resilience of our people.”

Primary Wave’s vp of asset and creative Donna Grecco also commented on the late artist’s legacy. “James Brown was a larger-than-life icon; a trailblazer for Black artist entrepreneurship in the business of music. He tirelessly fought for racial justice. We can’t think of no better place to have co-hosted this celebration of Black excellence and this impactful discussion of the power of Black music than at the home of the Godfather of Soul.”

Executive coaches ferried 150 music dignitaries from Atlanta to Brown’s estate. Once there, attendees were treated to an opening reception featuring a tour of the estate and cocktails, a soul food barbecue with wine/beer tasting from local, Black-owned companies, followed by a panel discussion and music performances by Mali Wilson, T.I.’s son Buddy Red and Tiffany Evans.

BMAC board member Naima Cochrane moderated the panel discussion, which featured Amazon Rotation head of R&B and Hip Hop and BMAC executive leadership council member Sierra Lever, UMG general counsel/executive vp, business and legal affairs Jeff Harleston, artist manager and BMAC board member Caron Veazey and Brown’s daughter Dr. Deanna Thomas. Also in attendance was another Brown daughter, Yamma Brown.

Sharing a key lesson learned from her dad, Thomas declared, “Never sell. That’s what my father taught us. The music was the gold, and he knew that — even without a formal education. He always said, ‘It’s not ‘show business,’ it’s ‘show and business.’ 75% of what you do is business. If you don’t have that together, you’ve already given away your 25%.”

Among other soundbite takeaways from the discussion:

Harleston: “Bad Bunny owns all of his stuff. He made a decision and had the discipline to see it through. That’s empowerment.”

Lever: “Artists today haven’t always experienced what it means to lift someone else up. J. Cole collaborating with Lil Durk — that was exposure to a new kind of message and responsibility.”

Cochrane: “Black music is not a monolith. The landscape is changing, and there’s a learning curve on all sides — artists, execs and consumers.”

Veazey: “There’s not one single platform anymore. That fragmentation makes it harder for meaningful music to cut through.”

In addition to BMAC, sponsors of the Juneteenth Summit included Universal Music Group’s Global Impact team, Billboard and Destination Augusta. Here’s a gallery of photos taken at the event.

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Slick Rick Releases Cinematic ‘VICTORY’ Short Film Starring Nas, Idris Elba & Giggs

Slick Rick delivered his first album in 26 years with VICTORY earlier in June, and The Ruler returned with a cinematic accompanying short film to the project on Friday (June 20).

Directed by Meji Alabi, Rick’s short film serves as a companion to his album and features appearances from Nas, Giggs and Idris Elba, who executive produced the project. Legendary photographer Jonathan Mannion also helped craft the film’s aesthetic while Young Guru mixed the LP.

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“VICTORY is a tale of fiction for the mind. Part myth. Part Magic. Grab your snacks… And a cozy blanket and pretend you’re by a fireplace,” Slick Rick said in a statement. “VICTORY is sight, story, and sound dancing as one.”

The short film gives fans a look into Slick Rick’s innovative storytelling and age-defying imagination with each scene more powerful than the next, while providing a cinematic visual companion to the album.

“Collaborating with Slick Rick The Ruler on his first album in 26 years was incredible,” added director Meji Alabi. “Being able to create visuals to such a monumental piece and with a storyteller and icon like Slick Rick was an experience I’m going to cherish forever and can’t wait for the world to see what he has in store for them.”

Even at 60 years old, Slick Rick’s ingenuity remains timeless while delivering hard-hitting bars over an array of beats ranging from boom bap to dance.

Recorded in London and France, VICTORY was four years in the making for The Ruler, while the visuals were shot in the United States, U.K. and Africa.

Watch the short film below.

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Nine Days to Celebrate 25 Years of ‘Absolutely (Story of a Girl)’ With Australian Tour

US pop-rock outfit Nine Days are heading to Australia for the first time this November to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their breakout single, “Absolutely (Story of a Girl),” and its parent album The Madding Crowd.

The Long Island band will perform three intimate shows on the East Coast, with dates locked in for Melbourne (Nov. 13 at Croxton Bandroom), Sydney (Nov. 14 at Caringbah Hotel), and Brisbane (Nov. 15 at The Back Room). Tickets will go on sale Thursday, June 26, via MRG Live, with pre-sale access starting a day earlier.

Originally released in 2000, “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 31 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The double-Platinum single has enjoyed a resurgence in recent years, thanks in part to its reimagining in the Oscar-winning film Everything Everywhere All At Once. To date, it has racked up more than 175 million streams on Spotify.

Frontman John Hampson says the band has long hoped to tour Australia: “We have been waiting 25 years for this opportunity! Over the years, fans from Australia have reached out to us wanting to know when we were going to make it there to play some shows. Well, now we can finally give them an answer – this November!”

In a nod to the band’s Aussie connection, Hampson recalled an exclusive CD single released only in Australia, featuring unplugged recordings from a Seattle session. “For some reason, this fascinated me,” he said.

While often labeled a one-hit wonder, Nine Days have released eight studio albums since 1995, including their most recent, Snapshots, in 2016. “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” continues to be a generational anthem, earning spots on Rolling Stone’s list of the best one-hit wonders of the 2000s and Billboard’s top 10 songs of the summer from the same decade.

The upcoming shows promise to be a nostalgic celebration for longtime fans and a rare chance to hear a beloved track performed live by the band that wrote it.

Nine Days 2025 Australian Tour Dates:

Nov. 13 – Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne

Nov. 14 – Caringbah Hotel, Sydney

Nov. 15 – The Back Room, Brisbane

Tickets via mrglive.com

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U.K. Prime Minister on Kneecap’s Glastonbury Set: ‘I Don’t Think That’s Appropriate’

Kneecap’s Glastonbury Festival set is now at the center of a political firestorm, with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly opposing the Northern Irish hip-hop trio’s appearance following terrorism charges against member Mo Chara.

In comments published by The Sun, Starmer said he does not believe Kneecap should perform at the iconic festival on June 28. “No, I don’t, and I think we need to come down really clearly on this,” he said. “This is about the threats that shouldn’t be made. I won’t say too much because there’s a court case on, but I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

Mo Chara, born Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh, was last month charged with a terrorism offense by London’s Metropolitan Police after being investigated for allegedly showing support for militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah in historic videos. Both are proscribed as terror groups according to U.K. law, and considered an offense under the Terrorism Act 2000.

Kneecap have denied the allegations, calling the charges a “carnival of distraction” in a statement posted to social media. “We deny this ‘offense’ and will vehemently defend ourselves,” the group said. They added, “British courts have long charged people from the North of Ireland with ‘terrorism’ for crimes never committed. We will fight them. We will win.”

The posters, in Irish flag colors, read “More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish, Mo Chara” — a provocative reference to anti-Irish and anti-immigrant signage once common in the U.K.

Kneecap’s growing notoriety has drawn attention beyond the courtroom. At Coachella earlier this year, the trio accused organizers of censoring their pro-Palestine messaging during the livestream. They were recently removed from Scotland’s TRNSMT festival due to “police safety concerns,” but their Glastonbury performance remains on the lineup — and the BBC is still planning to air it live.

Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch joined Starmer in criticizing the group, also taking aim at the BBC. “As a publicly funded platform, the BBC should not be rewarding extremism,” she wrote on social media.

Kneecap, whose debut album Fine Art was released in 2024, have built a reputation for blending satire, politics and Irish identity into a brash hip-hop sound. The controversy around their appearance has turned what might have been a standard festival set into one of Glastonbury’s most politically charged moments in years.

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Fans Choose KATSEYE’s ‘Gabriela’ as This Week’s Favorite New Music

“Gabriela,” the new single from KATSEYE, tops this week’s new music poll.

Music fans voted in a poll published Friday (June 20) on Billboard, choosing the global girl group’s fresh track as their favorite new music release of the past week.

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Votes streamed in over the weekend, with music fans ultimately making “Gabriela” their top pick over new releases from Public Enemy, Cardi B, Benson Boone, Karol G, Lorde, Haim and more. The new KATSEYE track brought in 43% of the vote.

KATSEYE dropped “Gabriela” as a pre-release from their upcoming Beautiful Chaos EP, due out on June 27 via HYBE x Geffen (pre-save here). The track has a Latin pop groove and incorporates both English- and Spanish-language lyrics — with a bridge sung entirely in Spanish. The single follows “Gnarly,” which earned the group’s six members their career-first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 in May — and got a remix with Ice Spice earlier this month.

Released on June 19, the deliberately melodramatic, telenovela-inspired “Gabriela” music video, featuring actress Jessica Alba and directed by Andrew Thomas Huang, has amassed 9.3 million views on YouTube as of press time on Sunday, June 22.

Over the weekend, KATSEYE — Daniela, Lara, Manon, Megan, Sophia and Yoonchae — performed “Gnarly” at the 2025 Kids’ Choice Awards. The performance ended with a requisite sliming.

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Among the new music trailing behind “Gabriela” on this week’s poll are Public Enemy’s “March Madness,” with 22% of the vote; Cardi B’s “Outside,” with 16% of the vote; Benson Boone’s “American Heart,” with 5% of the vote, and Karol G’s Tropicoqueta, with 2% of the vote.

See the final results of this week’s poll below.

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Jay-Z Joins Beyoncé for ‘Crazy in Love’ & More in Surprise Duet in Paris

The City of Love got to witness “Crazy in Love” live Sunday night (June 22) with Beyoncé and Jay-Z — a performance the superstar couple haven’t put on together in more than six years.

The Cowboy Carter songstress wrapped a long weekend in Paris with her husband by her side at Stade de France, just north of the capital, where the Cowboy Carter Tour had a three-night run (June 19, 21 and 22).

Surprise guest Jay-Z joined his wife on the pair’s 2003 hit “Crazy in Love” and was there for a version of 2013’s “Drunk in Love” remixed with “Partition,” and brought his own “N—-s in Paris” to the city. (Jay originally recorded “Paris” with Ye, for their collaborative Watch the Throne album that topped the Billboard 200 in 2011; Ye was, unsurprisingly, not a part of Jay’s performance Sunday.)

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The last time Bey and Jay, aka The Carters, performed in concert together was at Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Dec. 2, 2018.

But crowd-captured video — and even a clip uploaded by concertgoer Cardi B, who went full Cowboy Carter with her outfit — shows Beyoncé stepping aside for a moment mid-“Crazy in Love” Sunday night, leading all eyes to Jay-Z, who emerges out of the blue to rap his entire verse to the cheers of Parisian fans.

The footage also gives a glimpse at Jay-Z performing “N—-s in Paris” while Cardi, Kelly Rowland and Tina Knowles are dancing in the VIP area.

“Crazy in Love,” which in 2003 spent eight weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and lives on as one of Beyoncé’s biggest singles to date, is a standard on the Cowboy Carter Tour setlist, just without Jay-Z’s verse. However, Sunday marked the first time “Drunk in Love” has made the cut this tour, and as expected, it’s also the only time “N—-s in Paris” has been part of the show.

Sunday’s Jay-Z surprise follows a surprise appearance by Miley Cyrus on Paris night one. Beyoncé and Miley treated the June 19 audience to the live debut of their Cowboy Carter ballad “II Most Wanted.”

The Cowboy Carter Tour returns to the U.S. next, resuming on June 28 for pair of hometown shows in Houston.

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Kristin Chenoweth to Perform National Anthem Before Game 7 of NBA Finals

At 4-foot-11, Kristin Chenoweth is still making it to the NBA Finals.

The award-winning actress, singer, Oklahoma native, Oklahoma Hall of Fame inductee and unabashed Oklahoma City Thunder fan is performing “The Star-Spangled Banner” before Game 7 of the title series between the Thunder and the Indiana Pacers on Sunday night (June 22), the NBA announced.

Chenoweth’s performance will air live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET, shortly before tipoff of the season’s final game.

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She teased the appearance on social media Saturday, revealing — while wearing Thunder gear — that she was in Oklahoma City, then said she better “start warming up” and sang the first few notes of the national anthem.

Chenoweth’s Thunder fandom has been no secret since the franchise’s early years, though she also has professed at times to liking the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks as well. That said, the Thunder are clearly her top choice — so much so that she once told Tulsa World she spent three hours bedazzling a Thunder hat. She went to Oklahoma City University after growing up in Broken Arrow, about 115 miles northeast of where the Thunder play.

And her dog’s name is Thunder. She even dressed the pup up once in a Thunder outfit.

Chenoweth has been the anthem singer at multiple Thunder games in the past, sometimes alone and at least once with children from her Chenoweth Broadway Bootcamp. That camp is part of the arts and education fund that she founded to cultivate “young artistic expression by enriching children’s lives through the power of education, entertainment and experience.”

Chenoweth won a Tony Award in 1999 for best leading actress in a musical for her role in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. She also earned two other Tony nominations for best leading actress in a musical — one in 2004 for playing Glinda in Wicked and the other in 2015 for playing 1930s Hollywood diva Lily Garland in On the Twentieth Century.

And in 2009, she won an Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy series for her work on ABC’s Pushing Daisies.

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Billy Strings Shares Heartbreaking News of His Mom’s Death at Kentucky Show

Billy Strings paid tribute to his mother during a concert in Kentucky, just hours after learning of her passing.

Early in his sold-out show at Lexington’s Rupp Arena on Friday (June 20), the 32-year-old bluegrass star told the audience that his mother, Debra Apostal, had died in her sleep following his hometown performance at the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival in Lansing, Michigan, the day before.

“After our set we drove through the night and I finally fell asleep when we got parked here in Lexington, probably about 5:40 this morning or so,” Strings told the audience, holding only a microphone. “I might have got three hours of sleep and I was in a deep sleep. My wife woke me up this morning and told me that my beautiful mother, Debra Apostal, passed away in her sleep.”

Strings, visibly fighting back emotion, recalled wandering through Lexington in the early morning hours, seeking solace.

“I just put my shoes on and started walking,” he said. “I walked until I saw this old country church and it was like a beacon, and I went there and knocked on the door and this kind lady let me in and she stayed with me and prayed with me for a while, and eventually gave me a ride back to where I was staying.”

Despite the devastating news, Strings made the decision to move forward with the show, saying it’s what his mother would have wanted.

“It was my decision to carry on with tonight’s show because that’s what my mom would have wanted me to do,” he said, as the crowd responded with supportive cheers. “She really loved this group of people. She loved you all so much and for the last couple of years were some of her happiest because of a lot of you folks right here. You all became some of our best friends, and I really want to thank you for that. The reason I decided not to go home and be with my family right now is because I already am.”

With his head bowed, Strings promised the crowd he’d do his best to get through the performance. He then asked, “So please, instead of a moment of silence, can you please make as much noise right now for my mom?”

After the emotional speech, Strings welcomed his band to the stage and opened the set with a powerful rendition of “I’ve Just Seen the Rock of Ages.” He went on to deliver a two-and-a-half-hour performance featuring a mix of originals and covers, including songs by The Beatles and Pearl Jam.

Just a day earlier, Strings had performed alongside his father, fellow bluegrass musician Terry Barber, at the Charlotte Bluegrass Festival. Apostal did not attend that show and passed away in the early morning hours of June 20, according to the Lansing State Journal.

Strings is scheduled to continue his tour with concerts in Australia and New Zealand in July, followed by a run of U.S. dates beginning in August.

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