Celebrity Dish IX

[CrimsonTide4]

Busta Rhymes
Photo: J Records


Busta Rhymes escaped injury on Friday night when his SUV was sprayed with bullets while parked outside the offices of his New York management company.

The rapper was not in the vehicle when the passenger-side door of his black GMC Suburban was hit with at least six bullets just minutes after he'd parked and exited the car to enter the offices of his management group, Violator, according to NYPD Sergeant Mike Wysokowski.

"There are no suspects at this time and it is unknown who the target was," Wysokowski said, adding that no witnesses have been identified.

The sergeant said the shooting occurred sometime between 10 p.m., when Rhymes (born Trevor Smith) exited the vehicle registered to his Flipmode Entertainment label, and 10:18 p.m., when Rhymes returned to find the car riddled with bullets.

Violator oversees the careers of hip-hop artists such as Rhymes, Missy Elliott, Mobb Deep and 50 Cent.

The attack comes just a month after unknown assailants entered Violator's Manhattan office building, rode the elevator to the 11th floor and shot up the company's metal and glass security doors (see "Gunmen Open Fire On Violator Management Offices"). No one was injured in the January 16 incident, though several employees were present at the time, including Violator founder and CEO Chris Lighty.

Wysokowski said it is too early to say whether the incidents are related, or whether the Rhymes attack is connected to other recent hip-hop acts of violence, including the October slaying of Run-DMC's Jam Master Jay, an early mentor to 50 Cent (see "Jam Master Jay, Run-DMC DJ, Killed In Shooting").

"Drive-bys in New York are not common, but we don't know yet if this was a drive-by or an isolated incident," Wysokowski said.

A Violator spokesperson had no comment on the shooting.

—Gil Kaufman