Thug Life Army

The lawsuit that Tyruss Himes filed against Fox-owned KTTV-TV in Los Angeles and hip hop magazine XXL magazine has been dismissed by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

Now the name Tyruss Himes may not ring a bell with you but among hip hop culture he is known as rap artist Big Syke.

Big Syke is one of the original members of hip hop icon Tupac Shakurs’ (2Pac) group ‘Thug Life’. Big Syke is a highly respected and talented artist in the hip hop genre.

Based on ‘rumors’, KTTV-TV in Los Angeles aired a news report implicating the hip hop artist in the killing of NY hip hop legend Notorious BIG. Following that, hip hop magazine XXL magazine printed an article in 2005 indicating that Big Syke was "involved in assembling the team" to murder Biggie.

The Los Angeles Superior Court judge dismissed the lawsuit on grounds that the stories were constitutionally protected free speech.

Big Syke filed the lawsuit in July of 2006. He claimed he lost a record deal because the TV station aired the story. The article in the hip hop rag XXL was printed in 2005.

The judge also said that Himes had failed to prove that the media outlets acted with malice and reckless disregard for the truth, which is the standard of proof in a defamation case.

Now we all know Tupac (2Pac) and Biggie had beef. We all know that they both have loyal fans and a few of those fans border on being fanatics and anything can happen when things get twisted.

Just as you don’t yell ‘FIRE’ in a movie theater; reporting and printing ‘rumors’ can get someone hurt on the street. Many people actually believe what they hear and read in some of these so called news sources and magazines.

Arthur G Lesmez, the attorney for Big Syke, says Big Syke is considering an appeal. Mr. Lesmez said "We are appreciative of the time and effort the court put into reviewing the case. We''re understandably disappointed in the decision and we''re evaluating all of our options."

We can understand FOX doing this since they are good at twisting news but for a so called hip hop publication to do this is just lacking judgment in reporting.

Next time you want to pick up a hip hop magazine – choose VIBE.

I wish Big Syke luck with the appeal.