SANTA MONICA, California (AP):

Snoop Dogg told jurors on Monday that he did not hit a man suing him for millions of dollars with a brass-knuckle microphone during a melée at one of his 2005 concerts.

The rapper (real name: Calvin Broadus) took the stand for nearly two hours and denied that he hit Richard Monroe Jr during the show near Seattle. Broadus said he went back to his tour bus immediately after Monroe jumped onstage and was tackled by security.

Broadus described the people who were onstage during a melée in which Monroe claims he was seriously injured. He identified several people near the struggle as being affiliated with The Game, a fellow rapper who toured with Snoop on the How the West Was Won tour.

Mostly serious

The often-playful entertainer was mostly serious while on the stand, but did include a few moments of levity while detailing who he saw onstage in a frame-by-frame analysis.

For the most part, he unflinchingly identified the performers and security personnel who can be seen on the video struggling around Monroe.

Monroe's attorneys challenged Broadus' clear recollection of the incident from the screen shots and attempted to question the rapper about drug use the night of the concert. A judge rejected that request.

Broadus, for his part, said the shots shown in court on Monday were clearer than ones he was shown during a deposition.

Monroe sued in 2006, claiming he was seriously injured after Broadus and members of his entourage and security detail struck him and poured alcohol on him during a performance of the hit Gin and Juice. He sued for US$22 million; a 12-person jury will decide whether he receives any money.

Monroe testified last Friday that he woke up backstage, naked and in a pool of blood after the altercation. He said he was responding to what he thought was a call for audience members to join the performers onstage.

'Monroe was wrong'

Broadus' attorneys have argued that Monroe was wrong to come onstage and that the rappers' security was reacting because they thought Snoop was being attacked.

Broadus told jurors essentially the same thing on Monday.

"The best way for the injuries not to have occurred (was) for him to stay in his seat and enjoy the show like the rest of the fans," Broadus said.

The trial is expected to last throughout the week.