Members of rappers JIM JONES and JUELZ SANTANA’s entourage have been accused of assaulting CASSIDY’s security guard after the rival crews clashed at the opening of a new cultural centre in Florida on Tuesday (18Dec07).

The hip-hop crews’ dispute disrupted the grand opening of the HipHopSodaShop in Tampa, when Cassidy and his entourage entered the club’s VIP area shortly after Jones and Santana’s groups left the room.

According to AllHipHop.com, an argument occurred when three of Jones’ pals returned to the VIP area and had a heated exchange with a security guard who was working for the Hotel hitmaker.

A source says, "They were staring at Cassidy like they wanted to tear the fur off of his ass." Jones’ associates then left the room, but returned 10 minutes later with The Diplomats star, who got into another verbal altercation with the bodyguard. He was then hit in the head with a bottle of champagne by an unknown assailant and knocked unconscious.

The entourages’ behaviour was later condemned by the founder of the HipHopSodaShop franchise, Dr. Ben Chavis, but the rest of the celebrations went off without a hitch.