Busta Rhymes arrest: Rapper charged after allegedly throwing strawberry drink at gym employee

Hip hop star Busta Rhymes has been charged with assault after allegedly throwing a Lean Body Protein drink at a male employee at a New York gym.

TMZ reports that the rapper, real name Trevor Tahiem Smith Jr, was arrested on 5 August after getting involved in a dispute that escalated. The incident happened at Steel Gym in the Chelsea neighbourhood of Manhattan.

According to the police report, the 43-year-old star allegedly threw a half-litre container of strawberry protein drink at the man, hitting him in the head. Busta Rhymes was taken into custody after law enforcement was called to the scene, but the victim apparently refused medical attention.

But the Gimme Some More hitmaker's lawyer slammed the allegations as lies, telling Daily News he was confident the rapper would beat the second degree assault charges. In comments to the website TMZ, the lawyer was quoted as adding it was simply "another attempt to take advantage of Busta's celebrity status".

No court details were made available and it is believed Busta is still behind bars.

IBTimes UK has contacted a representative for Busta and is awaiting comment.

This is not the first time the Busta has faced accusations of assault. In 2006 he was arrested and arraigned for charges of third-degree assault after he allegedly attacked a man for spitting on his car. Six months after he refused a plea deal for allegedly assaulting his former driver, and was sentenced to three years probation and 10 days of community service.