Well by now the the Hip Hop community is aware of the recent situation involving Hot 97 DJ Funkmaster Flex. he made front page news when he was turned himself into the police after rival female deejay and former co-worker Steph Lova accused him of physically assaulting her. According to the initial reports Steph Lova waited 36 hours to report the incident which occurred last week in front of the Hot 97 studios. She stated that she wanted to check with her lawyers and 'do the right thing'. As far as she was concern Flex's beat down on her stemmed from the controversial interview she did with Nas back in June where he accused Flex of payola.

The fallout and reaction was swift, Many saw Flex's assault as a straight up 'bitch move'. There's no excuse for laying hands on a woman and more then a few people went on record to say so... Morning show host Ed Lover of rival station Power 105 went on the air the next morning and not only expressed his disgust but called for Flex to be fired. On the surface it appeared that Hot 97 which is owned by Emmis Communications would discipline Flex. Such was not the case.

Flex was back on the air the day the damaging headlines came out. He was taking phone calls and saying he 'doesn't get down like that' and that he 'respects women'. He didn't offer up any official comment but it was apparent Hot 97 was backing him all the way. First, they have gone on the offensive and accused the media of distorting the story and getting it twisted. They maintain that Flex is not a violent person. This is the same Hot 97 that refused to comment or issue any statements when this incident first occurred. Phone calls and requests to get 'the other side' of the story went unanswered and un-returned when the story first broke, but that's a whole other tale. It wasn't like people didn't call to find out what went down. In fact some news outlets had the info and waited a full day trying to get Hot 97s perspective before running with the story.

In any case, Hot 97's officials are not only backing Flex but they are now going after Steph Lova. The early word was the station itself was looking into getting a restraining order against her. She is being accused of 'lingering' in front of the Hot 97 offices and 'harassing' her former co-workers by showing up in front of the Hot 97 studios uninvited. Her constant presence has caused tension because she works for Clear Channel station Power 105 which is now neck and neck in the ratings with Hot 97.

Of course one has to raise the question as to why didn't they seek to get a restraining order earlier? Most radio stations have security that can intervene and remove unwanted visitors. You would think that after the shoot out that occurred a few months back between CNN's camp and Junior Mafia in front of the Hot 97 studios that such provisions would've been put in place. And even if she did show up at the studios is that an accuse for someone to lay hands on her? Either she's lying about the assault or she isn't. If she is lying then Flex and company should go after her full throttle. But if he did hit her...Her 'lingering' in the lobby of a rival radio station is a weak excuse for that to happen and one has to question why he's still on the air for something that egregious. I'll guess well find out when this goes to court. Although many are speculating that this will most likely be settled out of court.

The other thing to note is that NYPD has declined to investigate and go after Flex on the payola accusations. His manager, Joie Manda is quoted as saying the allegations against Flex taking money to play records is 110% false. He also went on to say that the reason why these allegations have been levied against Flex is because he's the 'biggest dog' out there and that all high profile deejays in major markets come under suspicion of payola.

The other interesting thing to note that 'DaOperative' who wrote the open letter to Flex last week threatening to go to the Feds if he didn't stop taking payola has also backed off. Here's an excerpt of a letter that was written late last week before the Steph Lova 'alleged' beat down:

[It was brought to my attention yesterday two industry executives from a major label got into a fist fight over the issue of payola. If this is true then I find that to be very disturbing trend because the purpose of my open complaint was not to create chaos within the industry but to alert everyone to the effect that payola has on the hip hop nation. I was contacted by a high profile entertainment attorney who strongly advised me that it was in my best interest that I should not pursue this matter any further due to the effects that it will have on my longtime friends and allies who work within the industry....]

DaOperative went on to say that he/she has gotten threats and it would be best to take the higher road. He/she also noted that several websites that were running the open letter were being told they would lose ad money from Franchise Marketing if they continue to run the piece. Me personally I haven't heard from anyone, but then again I don't run ads. We'll keep you posted on how all this plays out..