A musician friend of Chris Brown has also been charged with grievous bodily harm with intent over an alleged nightclub assault, after the R&B star was remanded in custody.
Dallas rapper and producer Omolulu Akinlolu, 38, is set to appear in court today over the attack which allegedly happened at Tape nightclub in London’s Mayfair in February 2023.
Akinlolu, known as HoodyBaby or Hood Boss, is a close friend of Brown’s and they have collaborated on tracks including No Such thing, which was released in 2020.
Brown’s upcoming tour was yesterday thrown into chaos after the singer was told he will be spending the next month remanded in custody in Britain.
The No Guidance singer, 36, is due to begin his Breezy Bowl XX tour in Europe on June 8 in Amsterdam, before playing in Hamburg on June 11 and Frankfurt on June 13.
But these plans are now in doubt after the singer was remanded in custody until June 13 during an appearance at Manchester Magistrates’ Court this afternoon.
Greater Manchester Police arrested Brown on behalf of the Metropolitan Police after he flew into Manchester Airport on a private jet on Wednesday afternoon.
Brown was detained at the five-star Lowry Hotel in Manchester in the early hours of Thursday and taken into police custody before being charged.
Akinlolu is said to have first met Brown when playing basketball in New York as a teenager, later reconnecting when he moved to LA.
He is reported to have spent five years as part of his entourage, writing songs including a credit on 2014 hit Loyal.
Akinlolu is known to write under different personas, Super Hood, Fat Leopard and Hoodybaby.
At the time he also became close to rapper Lil Wayne, who signed him to his record label.
“I’m funny,” he explained, talking about his famous friends to the Dallas Observer in 2015. “I’m very entertaining. A lot of people don’t know how to talk and s**t.”
At Manchester Magistrates’ Court yesterday, Brown was flanked by two security guards in the dock after he walked in shortly before 1pm and was wearing black Nike tracksuit bottoms and a plain black T-shirt.
The singer gave his name to the court as ‘Christopher Maurice Brown’, confirmed his date of birth as May 5, 1989 and gave his current address as ‘The Lowry Hotel’.
Brown watched on intently as brief details of the case against him were outlined by prosecutor Hannah Nicholls.
Ms Nicholls said the alleged victim was stood at the bar of the Tape nightclub on February 19, 2023 when the defendant launched an ‘unprovoked attack’ in which the complainant was struck several times with a bottle.
She said: ‘The defendant then pursued him to a separate area of the nightclub where the victim was punched and kicked repeatedly by him and another.’
A bail application followed from Brown’s barrister Grace Forbes, which was denied.
District Judge Joanne Hirst told Brown the alleged offence was a matter ‘too serious’ to be dealt with at her court as she sent the case to London’s Southwark Crown Court for a plea and trial preparation hearing on June 13 at 10am.
Brown confirmed to Judge Hirst that he understood he had further been remanded in custody until next month.
The singer nodded to an associate in the front row of the court’s public gallery as he was led from the dock following the 30-minute hearing.
Members of the public joined members of press to watch proceedings in Court 17, along with others following on videolink in an overspill court.
Brown is claimed to have injured music producer Abe Diaw in an unprovoked attack when the singer and his entourage were at a club night called ‘Dirty Martini’.
The producer previously alleged that Brown hit over the head with a bottle two or three times and then punched and kicked him as he lay on the floor.
Brown rose to fame at a young age with his rich R&B voice and later rap, and was also known for having a relationship with fellow music star Rihanna.
He released his debut album Chris Brown in 2005 and has since released a further ten studio albums and 64 singles.
Some of his biggest hits have included Run It!, Yo (Excuse Me Miss) and No Air, a collaboration with Jordin Sparks.
This is a breaking story, more to follow.