Music manager Chaka Zulu, known for managing rapper Ludacris, was charged with murder Saturday following a shooting in June.
Zulu, whose birth name is Ahmed Obafemi, walked into Fulton County Jail to turn himself in Tuesday, according to the Atlanta Police Department. He was arrested the same day and charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a weapon during certain crimes, and simple battery.
The 52-year-old was released after paying his bond of $200,000, according to jail records.
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Police reported that three men, including Zulu, were shot on June 26 during an altercation outside a strip mall in Atlanta. Artez Benton, 23, died of his injuries at a nearby hospital after being shot by Zulu.
“A close review of all of the evidence, including the surveillance footage and eyewitness interviews, reveals that Mr. Zulu was attacked and jumped from behind by a gang of at least four individuals (sadly including the decedent) and was forced to defend himself after this gang repeatedly stomped, punched, and kicked him while he was on the ground in a defenseless posture,” Zulu’s attorney, Gabe Banks, wrote in a statement. “It is not lost on Mr. Zulu that someone lost his life, but had Mr. Zulu not lawfully defended himself, Mr. Zulu would have been killed that night.”
Banks, a managing partner at law firm Banks Weaver, is citing self-defense as Zulu’s justification for the shooting. He also clarified that Zulu was licensed to carry at the time of the shooting.
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Ludacris has not responded publicly to the charges. The rapper founded Disturbing tha Peace Records with Zulu in the 1990s, with Zulu having managed him for over 20 years.
The Atlanta Police Department reports 112 homicides this year to date.
