News : Rapper HoodyBaby charged alongside Chris Brown in assault case

Following Chris Brown’s arrest in connection with an alleged attack at a London nightclub back in 2023, US rapper HoodyBaby has also been charged over the incident.

On Thursday (May 15), the ‘Loyal’ rapper was arrested in Manchester for allegedly attacking a music producer in a London bar two years ago. He was tracked down at The Lowry Hotel by the Metropolitan Police and arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm just hours after arriving in the city on a private jet.

At the time, a spokesperson from the Met said: “A 36-year-old man was arrested at a hotel in Manchester shortly after 2am on Thursday, May 15 on suspicion of grievous bodily harm. He has been taken into custody where he remains. The arrest relates to an incident at a venue in Hanover Square on February 19, 2023. The investigation is being led by detectives from the Central West Area Basic Command Unit.”

Brown, who is meant to be bringing his ‘Breezy Bowl XX’ tour to Europe next month, was accused of assault by producer Abraham Diaw, who has also lodged a civil complaint for $16million against Brown, seeking damages for injuries and losses incurred due to the alleged incident.

Yesterday (May 17), the Met shared that rapper HoodyBaby – real name Omololu Akinlolu – had also been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent for the February 2023 attack, the same charge Brown is facing. Police did not provide any further details regarding Akinlolu’s role in the alleged assault.

A day earlier, Brown was ordered to remain in custody on the “extremely serious” charges related to the alleged nightclub attack, where the singer allegedly beat music producer Diaw with a tequila bottle and then stomped on him, resulting in hospitalisation.

Per Rolling Stone, Judge Joanne Hirst rejected his bail request at a hearing and ordered that he remain in custody until his next hearing on June 13 in London, despite his lawyer arguing that he wasn’t a flight risk. Brown has not yet been asked to enter a plea to the charge and is yet to speak out on the allegations.

Brown’s upcoming tour is set to begin on June 8 in the Netherlands and make stops in Germany, the UK, Ireland, France and Portugal, before he heads on a North American leg of the tour at the end of July.

Among the shows set for the UK are two huge concerts at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 21 and 22 and four gigs at Co-op Live in Manchester on June 15, 16 and 24 and July 3.

However, the ruling jeopardises this, as the ‘Forever’ artist was scheduled to begin that trek on June 8 in Amsterdam, five days before his next hearing.