Chaka Zulu, the longtime manager of Ludacris, was charged with murder this week for a shooting in June.

As reported by CNN, Zulu (real name Ahmed Obafemi) was involved with the incident at the APT 4B restaurant in Atlanta, which left one person dead.

Officers arrived on the scene on June 26, finding three men with gunshot wounds, one of which was Zulu. According to his lawyers, Zulu fired his weapon in self-defence.

After all three men were taken to hospital, one man – 23-year-old Artez Jamil Benton – died of his injuries.

Following the incident, investigators identified Zulu as a suspect, with police obtaining warrants for his arrest. He was charged with murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and simple battery by Atlanta police.

Zulu turned himself in voluntarily on last week (September 13), posting the $200,000 (around £175,000) bail later that day.

His lawyer Gabe Banks told CNN that his client “was forced to defend himself” after being attacked “by a gang of at least four individuals” that night and he is “disappointed” at the decision to charge him.

“Mr. Zulu was shot in the back during the shooting and nearly lost his life, and is still recovering from the nearly fatal injuries he sustained that evening. Mr. Zulu was at his place of business that night and had every right to defend himself,” the statement read.

“In an attempt to save his life, Mr. Zulu lawfully discharged his weapon in self-defense; a weapon that he is licensed to carry,” Banks said, and Zulu “remains confident that his name will be cleared of all charges through the judicial process.”

Zulu began managing Ludacris in the 1990s and together, they started Disturbing Tha Peace Records in 1998 alongside Zulu’s brother Jeff Dixon. The label was responsible for Ludacris’ 2006 Grammy Award-winning album ‘Release Therapy’, which featured the single ‘Money Maker’.