What is a hype man? Fat Joe allegations explained as rapper sues former associate on grounds of defamation
Joe Cartagena, aka Fat Joe, has filed a defamation lawsuit against Terrance "T.A." Dixon, his former hype man. Dictionary.com defines 'hype man' in terms of hip-hop as "a supporting performer who energizes and engages the audience and punctuates the rapper’s lyrics with shouted interjections."
In the lawsuit, Joe accused Terrance of running a false narrative about him on social media. Complex procured the court documents on April 30, 2025, which alleged Terrance had made:
"countless posts on social media containing a torrent of wholly fabricated, grotesque, and scandalous allegations — accusing Cartagena of unspeakable acts such as p*dophilia, statutory r*pe and s*xual assault."
Fat Joe claimed Terrance is trying to extort him because the latter believes the rapper owes him money. Per the filing, Terrance worked as Joe's hype man from 2006 to 2019, during which the former was offered trips, compensation, and other perks that came with being affiliated with a popular rapper.
After their work relationship ended on a cordial note in 2019, Joe claimed Terrance never reached out to him with any monetary demands for a few years. The former hype man then reportedly began portraying Joe in a negative light on social media, making s*xual assault claims about the rapper.
Fat Joe claims his former hype man sent him a legal letter demanding compensation
According to Complex report, Fat Joe's lawyers called Terrance Dixon's actions a money-grabbing attempt, devised by the former hype man's attorney, Tyrone Blackburn. Tyrone previously gained the media's attention for his ties with Diddy accuser Lil Rodney, whom he has been representing in their ongoing legal case.
Terrance appointed Tyrone in March 2025 and sent Joe a legal letter to demand compensation for the money he believes the rapper should have paid him for his work. The former hype man claimed in the letter sent on March 23 that he worked as a "ghostwriter" for the rapper, adding he was also a vocalist, but wasn't credited on the tracks.
Terrance reportedly wanted to collect funds to launch his own record label. Per Joe's filing, when he didn't pay heed to Terrance's demands, he falsely accused the rapper of hindering him from getting financial aid from others.
Joe's filing alleged that Terrance and Tyrone threatened him with legal action based on accusations of s*x trafficking and s*xual assault on April 21. However, the What's Luv rapper refuted the allegations. Joe claimed that Tyrone threatened him over email about reporting him to the Homeland Security or dragging him into a Civil RICO case.
Attorney Tyrone Blackburn called Fat Joe's defamation filing "a baseless lawsuit in an effort to soften the blow of what's to come." He added:
"It won't work. Fat Joe has a lot of explaining to do."
Labeling Terrance and Tyrone's legal letter a "criminal conspiracy," Joe mentioned:
"The relentless threats, harassment, and defamation I've endured as they peddle salacious lies are utterly deplorable. I'm taking legal action to expose their misconduct and I'm fully confident that the facts will reveal this is nothing more than a deceptive and desperate scam."
Fat Joe is currently being represented by Joe Tacopina, who was A$AP Rocky's legal counsel in his firearm assault case.
