NEW YORK — For Fabolous, this holiday season hasn't exactly been filled with much joy.

The Brooklyn rapper has been tangled in a police investigation since Thanksgiving regarding his whereabouts on the night of November 23, when a childhood friend and associate of his was fatally stabbed outside Manhattan nightspot Duvet after an altercation with another club attendee.

According to New York's Daily News, a club promoter spotted the rapper at Duvet that night. In a statement released through his lawyer, however, Fabolous (real name: John Jackson) denied the charge and explained he was with his family the night his friend, Shamel McKinney, was killed.

In reports, Fabolous and his crew, Street Family, have been characterized as an organized robbery ring that uses the rapper's fame to attract celebrities while his circle later holds them up for their belongings.

According to the Daily News report, police believe McKinney was targeted after attempting to rob a man for his chain.

On Monday night, while at the Soho Grand Hotel for Mary J. Blige's album-release party, Fabolous emphatically denied being present at Duvet on the night in question and denied accusations surrounding Street Family.

"I was not there. One-hundred percent with a cherry on top, fingers crossed, however you want, [whatever] makes your day of trust, I was completely not at Duvet club that night," Fab told MTV News. "I was at home with my family on Thanksgiving night," he continued, although he was actually referring to the previous evening.

Despite his rather awkard phrasing (he may have intended "fingers crossed" to mean he's hoping for a positive outcome; perhaps he meant to say "cross my heart"), Fab asserted that he was not in the club on that night.

"It's a terrible tragedy. He's a friend of mine, of course. And even if I went to the club, there's no crime with going to the club and celebrating. So, if I was there, I would have no problem saying I was there. But I wasn't there. I never took a stand and said anything [about McKinney's murder] at first, because it was a grieving point for people's families, and he was a son and a father and somebody's brother. So I'm not gonna take defense in that, I'm gonna make sure the family is straight first.

"But I seen there was a lot of slandering getting kind of thrown on my name and tainting my name as far as making me seem like I'm some kind of organized-crime guy who goes to these clubs and [sets] people up," he added. "And that's totally so far from what I'm about — and even what Street Family is about. So I just wanted to clarify that. And the ... thing about me being in the club is ridiculous. I'm sure if I went to a club there would be pictures ... there would be [photographers] making sure you would see I was in the club."

The Daily News reported in early December that a suspect in the case had been arrested. According to the report, police believe McKinney was targeted by Anthony Taylor after an altercation inside the club between the two men. After both men were kicked out of the club, the fight continued outside, where Taylor allegedly stabbed McKinney to death. As of press time, Taylor has not been charged with any crime.