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What's Happening in the Hip Hop World?

Rapper T.I. arrested on machine gun charges, sentenced to 1 year

  

  • Rapper Gets Prison Time For Cop-Killing Song
    August 12th, 2009 | Author: Salima Koroma
    When rapper Antavio Johnson wrote the song "Kill Me A Cop" in his teen years and uploaded it onto a Myspace page, the possibility of future consequences was certainly not expected. Now, years later, Johnson according to authorities, the 20-year-old rapper expressed his desire to kill two Lakeland, Florida officials in the song, which detectives found while researching gang-related activity on Myspace.com. On the track, Johnson calls the two officers out by name--one male and one female-- and claims that they had harassed him during an earlier incident. In the song, Johnson announces, "I'ma kill me a cop one day," and threatens to shoot the officers in the "dome" with a "glock" if they ever "get my timing wrong."
    Already serving time for a probation violation related to cocaine use, the legitimacy of Johnson's added two years in prison is being questioned by the public. Many wonder if Johnson's sentencing is unconstitutional and if it goes against the right to free speech. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is backing Johnson, maintained that "We [shouldn't] punish bad thoughts in America." However, not all speech is protected under the Constitution. Florida state law deems it a third-degree felony to harm or threaten to harm public servants, their families, or people they care about.
    Discontent with police officers, however, is nothing new in the rap genre. More than 20 years ago, N.W.A.Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg's
    Previously, Johnson could not obtain a lawyer, but he has recently obtained one, as well as the support of the ACLU. is facing a two-year sentence for the aggressive lyrics he used in the song. boldly challenged authorities with their protest record "Fuck Tha Police" while "Deep Cover" years later talked explicity about murdering police officials.

    March 31/09  

    Ice Cube to play Cop in new movie Ride Along

     
    Ice Cube
    		   Legendary Hip-Hop icon Ice Cube has been cast in a new action comedy movie called "Ride Along". In Ride Along, Cube, will play a rogue cop who attempts to sabotage his sisters marriage to a white psychiatrist by taking him to work for a ride along.

      The Movie is in pre-production right now and is still in need of a director and co-stars but it is slated to start filming this summer.

      Ice Cube's next film Janky Promoters also co-starring the freakin hillarious Mike Epps. It is going to be a similar feel to the Friday Series but at the moment is seeking distribution after an agreement with the Weinstein Co fell apart

  • Rapper 'C-Murder' convicted of 2002 fan shooting
    (AP) – August 11, 2009
    GRETNA, La. — Rapper Corey "C-Murder" Miller has been convicted of second-degree murder in the 2002 shooting of a fan at a nightclub.
    The Louisiana jury reached the 10-2 verdict Tuesday afternoon in its second day of deliberations. Jurors had reached the same verdict earlier in the day, but District Judge Hans Liljeberg ordered them back to the jury room for more deliberation because of a questionable vote. Liljeberg initially said one juror changed her vote just to end deliberations.
    Miller faces life in prison for the killing of 16-year-old Steve Thomas.

More Information

Perhaps the most crucial element of a successful prosecution is introducing the jury to the real defendant. Invariably, by the time the jury sees the defendant at trial, his hair has grown out to a normal length, his clothes are nicely tailored, and he will have taken on the aura of an altar boy. But the real defendant is a criminal wearing a do-rag and throwing a gang sign. Gang evidence can take a prosecutor a long way toward introducing that jury to that person. Through photographs, letters, notes, and even music lyrics, prosecutors can invade and exploit the defendant's true personality. Gang investigators should focus on these items of evidence during search warrants and arrests. 2
 
- From Prosecuting Gang Cases: What Local Prosecutors Need to Know (2004)

Other News

Lyrics have played a prominent role in cases with the highest stakes - capital punishment cases. United States v. Wilson and Commonwealth v. Neblett are representative of the judicial treatment of lyrics written by defendants. In Wilson, the defendant was charged with capital crimes for shooting in the back of the head and killing two law enforcement officers.  When the defendant was arrested, law enforcement recovered the following rap music lyrics written by the defendant:
 
Come teast Rated U Better have that vast and dat Golock/Leavea 45 slogs in da back of ya head cause I'm getting dat bread I ain't goin stop to I'm dead.
 
The prosecution claimed that the lyrics constituted the defendant's confession to the shootings. The court agreed and admitted the lyrics as substantive evidence during the prosecution's case in chief during the guilt phase of the trial.

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