Jay-Z’s road manager pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct yesterday for pepper-spraying singer R. Kelly at the height of the two performers’ public war two years ago.
Tyran “Ty Ty” Smith – a childhood friend of Jay-Z and a vice president at Def Jam Records – got a no-jail deal in return for admitting the onstage Madison Square Garden attack during a brief Manhattan Criminal Court hearing.
If Smith successfully completes four days of community service and two days of anger-management counseling, his rap sheet will be cleared of the whole affair.
But his civil problems may only escalate. R. Kelly has sued Smith and Jay-Z for $91 million over the pepper-spraying and for alleged breach of contract on the two performers’ aborted 2004 tour.
While Kelly claims the pepper-spraying was part of a campaign to scuttle the tour, Jay-Z claims R. Kelly’s suit is a stunt to deflect attention from R.Kelly’s upcoming teen-sex trial.
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