An associate of rapper Jay-Z has been charged with blasting singer R. Kelly with pepper spray last month at a concert, authorities said Friday.

Tryan Smith was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, following a complaint filed by Kelly. Smith was ordered to appear in court on Dec. 7. The charge is punishable by up to one year in prison.

A call to a spokeswoman for Jay-Z was not immediately returned.

Last week, Kelly sued Jay-Z for $75 million, alleging the rapper used violence to force Kelly off their national tour.

Kelly, whose best-known hit is “I Believe I Can Fly,” has claimed that during the Oct. 29 show at Madison Square Garden, he noticed two men in the audience open their coats and display dark objects he thought could have been guns.

Kelly twice left the stage, once telling the audience he was being “menaced.” After police arrived and found nothing, Kelly returned to the stage, after which he and several members of his entourage were hit with pepper spray, the suit says.

The tour’s promoter, Atlanta Worldwide Touring, fired Kelly. He and Jay-Z were in the middle of a 40-city tour that had been plagued by canceled shows and reports that the two weren’t speaking.

Credit: AP