American R&B singer Chris Brown has received an eight-month prison sentence for a violent assault on music producer Abe Diaw at a London nightclub in 2023.
The sentence was delivered by Southwark Crown Court on Monday, October 26, 2026, but suspended for 12 months. This means the 37-year-old musician will not have to serve the prison term immediately, provided he complies with the conditions of the suspension.
Brown had pleaded guilty in July to affray over the incident involving Diaw at Tape nightclub in Mayfair, London, on February 19, 2023.
Delivering his judgment, Judge Tony Baumgartner said CCTV footage showed Brown striking Diaw twice with a tequila bottle before hitting him on the shoulder and attempting a fourth blow.
“The repeated use of a glass bottle in that way… was plainly dangerous,” the judge said, noting that the attack could have caused significantly more serious injuries.
Diaw required hospital treatment for head trauma, tenderness around his neck and abdomen, and reduced movement in his left knee.
Although the judge described the incident as short-lived, he said the violence was intense and that Brown played a leading role in the attack.
Baumgartner also considered Brown’s two previous convictions involving violence, dating back to 2009 and 2013, but acknowledged that they were relatively old.
He stressed that the singer’s fame, commercial success and professional standing did not entitle him to special treatment.
Chris Brown’s vocal coach, 40-year-old rapper Omololu Akinlolu, who also pleaded guilty to affray, received a four-month prison sentence suspended for 12 months.
The judge found that Akinlolu had not initiated the violence but had participated by punching and kicking Diaw while he was on the ground.
More serious charges against both men, including assault and attempting to cause grievous bodily harm, were dropped following their guilty pleas.