What was supposed to be a week of celebration for hip-hop group Smif-N-Wessun and veteran producer Pete Rock turned violently wrong on Tuesday after cops busted up their Monumental album-release party in New York City.

Concertgoers were attacked by cops, and for Rock, the drama hit especially close to home as police struck his wife and stepdaughter, he told MTV News on Thursday (June 30).

“We were coming out and someone was screaming, ‘Yo, Pete, your wife, your wife.’ So I ran out to make sure they were OK and to make sure the cop would stop hitting them,” the Mount Vernon, New York, hitmaker told MTV News. “My stepdaughter said the cop was hitting her leg and she jumped in the way for her mother, which is my wife, to take the hits. And then my cameraman tried to jump in front of her, to take her hits. The cop was going bananas.”

A press release issued Thursday by the group stated that 30 minutes after “a minor argument” that “eventually was defused by the bouncers,” approximately 15 to 20 uniformed police officers from the 7th Precinct in downtown Manhattan arrived at Tammany Hall. “The officers then hurried into the club and began macing and assaulting individuals inside the club, dragging one of them out and pummeling him directly in front of the club,” the press release said.

The group’s attorney, Kenneth Montgomery, who was present at the concert, said the police “behavior was unjustified, unprovoked, and simply barbaric considering there was no provocation.”

When MTV News reached out to the NYPD for comment, we received this statement from Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly: “Police officers had every right to defend themselves against individuals assaulting them, and used appropriate force in doing so. They also protected civilians who were being pelted with bottles at the outset, as they responded to the location at the request of the club’s own security.”

Various portions of the incident were captured on film by bystanders, who recorded the melee on their cell phones and video cameras and uploaded footage to YouTube and other social-networking sites.

Tek and Steele (the two members of Smif-N-Wessun) and Rock weren’t harmed physically, but for the producer, who witnessed his wife and stepdaughter being assaulted by police, it was difficult to exercise restraint. “I have to say that I’m very proud of myself that I held every bit of anger I had inside when that was happening,” he said. “I’m very proud of myself.”

As Lauren Alaina prepares to kick off the American Idols Live! tour on July 6 in Utah, it’s time for her to start imagining life as an artist beyond the confines of a TV competition. As her second-place finish on season 10 proves, she has quite a fanbase, and the tour will give them the chance to see her in person. The thought of meeting supporters had the 16-year-old recalling her own ultimate fangirl experience, meeting Justin Bieber.

“Well, I was presenting Sugarland at the CMT Awards, and I found out that Justin Bieber was there,” she explained to MTV News at the “American Idol” tour press day. “And I said I that I wanted to meet him, and I guess the people that I was there with made it happen.”

During some down time on the show, she was about to meet Bieber, who took home Collaborative Video of the Year with Rascal Flatts that night, but first she had to battle a fashion mishap.

“I walked up to meet him and he was doing an interview, and then I was just looking at my outfit, and I realized I had a rip in the side of my dress, so I was trying to fix it real fast,” she recalled. “And then someone had told him I had gone over there to meet him, so he came up to me and was like, ‘Hey, I’m Justin.’ … It just kind of set me back. We took a picture and then it was over.”

Though it was brief, Lauren wasn’t too disappointed with their encounter. “It was cool just to meet him,” she said. “Everyone wants to meet Justin Bieber and I got to do it, so it was really nice.”

While in Nashville, Alaina was greeting her own fans too. “I haven’t had anything weird happen to me, it’s just people recognize me a lot more,” she said. “And I went to Nashville, and I got out on Broadway with Scotty [McCreery] and we were like swarmed in 10 seconds. We didn’t even know if people were going to realize who we were. [And] I mean immediately, as soon as we got out of the car, they recognized us, so that was really cool.”

It’s been a minute since Justin Bieber released new music, and it sounds like the waiting game continues for Beliebers. The singer is currently in the planning and recording stages for his next record and has not set any deadlines for himself. At the moment, Bieber said, he’s still creating.

“I want to work a lot with myself,” he told MTV News about any plans to expand his collaboration résumé, after working with artists like Chris Brown, Kanye West, Ludacris and Rascal Flatts. “And [I want to] write a lot myself. I will be working with a lot of other producers and stuff like that, but I’m just writing a lot, writing on tour.”

So what is Bieber focusing on in this new batch of songs? “[I'm] writing about how I feel and producing. I’ve been producing on my laptop and on my computer,” he said. “I’ve been really into it and, hopefully, this next album will be huge.”

It may be a while until new stuff comes out, but it’s not like fans don’t already have plenty of Bieber music to listen to in the meantime. Only a couple of years into his career, Bieber has already managed to release the chart-topping albums My World, My World 2.0, Never Say Never ? The Remixes and My Worlds Acoustic. He’s also dabbled in a number of genres, like pop, hip-hop, R&B and, yes, even country. With so many interests in so many different sounds and so much to draw from, Bieber said he’s not boxing himself in on his next release.

“I’ve done a lot on my acoustic guitar, so it’s gonna have that vibe,” he explained. “I’m not gonna really limit myself. I think music is music, and genre ? I mean, I know there’s country music, there’s rock music, but my music is different. My voice is not meant for any style. I just want to make music.”

Are you excited for Bieber’s next album? Tell us in the comments!

It’s been a minute since Justin Bieber released new music, and it sounds like the waiting game continues for Beliebers. The singer is currently in the planning and recording stages for his next record and has not set any deadlines for himself. At the moment, Bieber said, he’s still creating.

“I want to work a lot with myself,” he told MTV News about any plans to expand his collaboration résumé, after working with artists like Chris Brown, Kanye West, Ludacris and Rascal Flatts. “And [I want to] write a lot myself. I will be working with a lot of other producers and stuff like that, but I’m just writing a lot, writing on tour.”

So what is Bieber focusing on in this new batch of songs? “[I'm] writing about how I feel and producing. I’ve been producing on my laptop and on my computer,” he said. “I’ve been really into it and, hopefully, this next album will be huge.”

It may be a while until new stuff comes out, but it’s not like fans don’t already have plenty of Bieber music to listen to in the meantime. Only a couple of years into his career, Bieber has already managed to release the chart-topping albums My World, My World 2.0, Never Say Never ? The Remixes and My Worlds Acoustic. He’s also dabbled in a number of genres, like pop, hip-hop, R&B and, yes, even country. With so many interests in so many different sounds and so much to draw from, Bieber said he’s not boxing himself in on his next release.

“I’ve done a lot on my acoustic guitar, so it’s gonna have that vibe,” he explained. “I’m not gonna really limit myself. I think music is music, and genre ? I mean, I know there’s country music, there’s rock music, but my music is different. My voice is not meant for any style. I just want to make music.”

Are you excited for Bieber’s next album? Tell us in the comments!