Sunday afternoon at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California, T.I. was involved in a brawl with Ludacris’ manager Chaka Zulu, during a luncheon held by Kevin Liles of Warner Music Group (parent company of T.I.’s label, Atlantic Records). According to witnesses, T.I. punched Zulu in the face and a small, brief melee ensued.
Ludacris and Zulu are said to have arrived about three hours into the event, with Zulu and Tip’s altercation happening shortly after. A statement released by Zulu’s publicist on Monday (June 25) called the incident “an unprovoked attack from [T.I., which] forced [Zulu] to defend himself.”
Zulu is quoted in the statement as saying, “It’s a shame that things like this continue to happen, especially with the backdrop of an event that was about benevolence and charitable works. “
T.I. and Ludacris had been microphone rivals for quite some time before squashing their differences a couple of years back. On T.I.’s upcoming LP, T.I. Vs. T.I.P., he said that he had the best rap album of last year even though Ludacris took home the Grammy.