Music, drug mogul murder trial testimony: 50 Cent pals, P. Diddy involved
The beef that allegedly led to the 2009 execution of 50 Cent rap crew associate Lowell Fletcher involved peace talks with P. Diddy, a drive-by shooting and an order to injure hip hop industry titan Chris Lighty, a witness said Wednesday in the murder-for-hire trial of music mogul and drug lord James (Jimmy Henchman) Rosemond.
BY DANIEL BEEKMAN / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014, 2:30 AM
It was a rap battle for the ages.
The beef that allegedly led to the execution of a 50 Cent rap crew associate in 2009 involved a sitdown with P. Diddy, a drive-by shooting and an order to injure hip hop industry titan Chris Lighty, a witness said Wednesday in the murder-for-hire trial of music mogul and drug lord James (Jimmy Henchman) Rosemond.
Khalil Abdullah, 40, said the years-long feud between Rosemond, of Czar Entertainment, and G-Unit, a clique that includes rapper 50 Cent and was managed by Lighty, hit a rough patch in 2006 after an argument before an awards show at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
Words were exchanged between Rosemond, 49, and G-Unit rapper Tony Yayo about another rapper, The Game, and a G-Unit associate flashed a gun, the witness said.
Abdullah, who was running cocaine for Rosemond to the tune of up to 100 kilograms or $3 million a week, had a thug shoot up Yayo's white Bentley on Madison Ave. in retaliation after the awards show, he said.
"He just dumped some rounds into the Bentley," Abdullah testified in Manhattan Federal Court. "Me and [Rosemond] just chuckled."
P. Diddy, the rapper and producer once known as Puff Daddy, called a peace conference between Rosemond and Lighty, Abdullah said. But it didn't go well.
"Chris ended up mushing [Rosemond] in the face," he said. "Puff jumped in between them and broke it up."
The beef escalated in 2007 when Yayo was accused of slapping Rosemond's son on a Manhattan street.
Rosemond told Abdullah to have Lighty shot in the leg, but the witness didn't follow through on the order, he said in Manhattan Federal Court.
In 2009, Rosemond hired Brian "Slim" McLeod and another goon to lure G-Unit hanger-on Lowell Fletcher to the Bronx and kill him, Abdullah said, citing a conversation he had with Rosemond a day or two later.
Khalil Abdullah testified in court Wednesday about the years-long feud between rap executive James Rosemond, on trial for ordering a murder, and G-Unit, a clique that includes rapper 50 Cent and was managed by Chris Lighty. P. Diddy once tried to broker a truce between the warring music businessmen, Abdullah said.
Khalil Abdullah testified in court Wednesday about the years-long feud between rap executive James Rosemond, on trial for ordering a murder, and G-Unit, a clique that includes rapper 50 Cent and was managed by Chris Lighty. P. Diddy once tried to broker a truce between the warring music businessmen, Abdullah said.
"Slim's man came out of nowhere and clapped the dude up," said Abdullah, who wasn't at the scene.
Rosemond was in Miami at the time of the murder, Abdullah said.
Rosemond is serving a life prison sentence for drug trafficking.
Hip hop industry titan Chris Lighty, pictured, managed G-Unit. He was long involved in a beef with murder-for-hire suspect and fellow music big James Rosemond, but his 2012 death was ruled a suicide.
Hip hop industry titan Chris Lighty, pictured, managed G-Unit. He was long involved in a beef with murder-for-hire suspect and fellow music big James Rosemond, but his 2012 death was ruled a suicide.
Abdullah pleaded guilty in the drug case and received an eight-year rap, but could have his sentence reduced based on his cooperation in Rosemond's trial.
Rosemond’s lawyer, Bruce Maffeo, battered Abdullah on cross-examination, calling attention to the witness’s past crimes and lies in an effort to undermine his credibility.
There has been no mention at trial of 50 Cent being involved in any violence. Lighty was found dead in 2012 with a gunshot wound to the head. It was ruled a suicide.
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