Another day, another Bill Cosby accusation—this time, courtesy of a former actress on The Cosby Show, who claimed that when she was on the show, he would make “lewd gestures” towards her (we’ll just leave it to your imagination as to what those gestures were).
But Bill Cosby isn’t the only person to ever be accused of, shall we say, inappropriate behavior towards the female of the species. And while, as always, all men are innocent until proven guilty (in theory, anyway), we’ve decided to compile a list of Hip-Hop superstars that have been accused, and sometimes convicted, of sex crimes.
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Photo: WENN
10. Mack Maine
Many people have forgotten that Young Money “president” Mack Maine has been charged with sexual battery…mostly because many people have forgotten Mack Maine. Regardless, the charges stemmed from an incident during Lil’Wayne’s America’s Most Wanted Tour. Mack Maine allegedly fondled a woman without her consent in Oklahoma City, and when she tried to get away, he punched her so hard in the face that he broke her jaw. Yikes.
9. DMX
Amongst the myriad of other legal problems that DMX has accrued for himself, he’s also earned a sexual assault charge. In 1998, DMX was arrested in NY for allegedly assaulting a Harlem dancer he’d met the night before. He got hit with charges of rape, sodomy, and unlawful imprisonment.
8. Tupac Shakur
The modern day Hip-Hop martyr also has broken wings—in 1993, he and two others were charged with sexual abuse of a female fan. In 1994, he was convicted of first degree sexual abuse, sentenced to 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison, and was bailed out by the currently-embattled Suge Knight after only serving eight months at the Clinton County Correctional Facility. He proclaimed his innocence until the day he died.
7. Mystikal
In 2002, the “Shake Ya A*s” rapper and two of his bodyguards were charged with aggravated rape and extortion. The charges stemmed from the hairstylist’s claim that she was forced to perform oral sex on the rapper & his bodyguards after they accused her of stealing more than $80,000 from the rapper. Mystikal categorically denied the charges (mostly because it’s hard to believe that he ever had $80,000 worth of anything), but when videotape of the incident was found in his house, he pled guilty to all the charges and was sentenced to six years in state prison.
6. South Park Mexican
His crimes are just as trailer park trashy as his name: in 2001, he was arrested on charges of sexual assault on a 9-year-old child. He was convicted in 2002, and sentenced to 45 years in prison. He is eligible for release when he’s 77 years old…provided someone doesn’t snatch him up in the prison yard before then.
5. Birdman & Slim
The embattled Young Money honcho and his brother were subjects of a 2012 civil suit, wherein the victim alleged that she was the victim of sexual assault by Cash Money affiliate Alfred Cleveland. Both Birdman & Slim have denied involvement in the assault.
4. Big Sean
While it’s hard to believe that Big Sean is anything but soft now that he’s with Ariana Grande, in 2011, he accepted a plea deal for misdemeanor unlawful imprisonment in exchange for being cleared of pending sexual assault charges that came while he was on tour with Wiz Khalifa.
3. PSD Tha Drivah
The protege of the late Bay Area legend Mac Dre, PSD Tha Drivah is currently sitting in jail on $500,000 bond after assaulting a woman who attempted to flee his apartment in 2012.
2. Snoop Dogg
Nowadays, he’s known by Snoop Lion & he’s a chill elder statesman of Hip-Hop. But back in 2005, he was still in his wild & crazy days when he was slapped with a civil suit from an Emmy-award winning makeup artist, who claimed that the Dogg and some of his associates raped her in the dressing room during a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live! However, weeks prior to the lawsuit being filed, Snoop filed a pre-emptive lawsuit against the makeup artist, claiming that she was targeting him in an extortion scam. Though the unnamed plantiff sued for $25 million, the suit was eventually dropped.
1. Joe Budden
Of all of the rappers on this list, this accusation is the most suspect, which is why it made #1. This rumor came out around the same time that the Slaughterhouse rapper regained popularity thanks to his appearance on Love & Hip-Hop: NY, and, according to AllHipHop.com, occured in 2007 with an intern in Budden’s studio. Now, while the “Pump It Up” rapper certainly has his fair share of problems with mistreatment of women (Esther Baxter & Tahiry can tell you), it doesn’t seem to jive that it took this long for the accusations to come to light. What would be the purpose of waiting? To get more traction? Money? Fame?
Sexual abuse, rape, and assault are ALL real problems, both in the Hip-Hop community and society as a whole. It’s a grossly under-reported crime, and it’s very difficult for a rapist to score a conviction. However, false accusations do NOTHING positive to raise sexual assault awareness…in fact, it does the EXACT opposite.
Follow Bernadette Giacomazzo on Instagram at @kbprfirm.
