when rappers dont trust the police (how can you blame them?)

if dreds equals strength, busta is seriously lacking now

To Whom It May Concern,

I recently read an article that appeared in the New York Times entitled “When Rappers Keep Their Mouths Shut Tight”. It is unfortunate when people who do not understand Hip-Hop culture, write about incidents that really have nothing to do with the music, and then attempt to connect dots that have no business being connected.

For those of you who do not know, Israel Ramirez, a bodyguard for Busta Rhymes, was gunned down outside a video shoot approximately two weeks ago after a dispute supposedly involving an associate of rapper Tony Yayo and music producer Swizz Beatz. Apparently, the acquaintance traded shots with someone outside of the video shoot and Mr. Ramirez was killed. The hoopla over the past two weeks has all centered around Busta Rhymes’ refusal to talk to the police.

First of all, there were 30 to 50 bystanders outside during the shooting. How Busta Rhymes became the ONLY or most important witness confuses me. Every time I read about this in the news it is about the silence of Busta Rhymes. There are church reverends and organizations calling for the boycott of Busta Rhymes music as if HE shot someone. Busta just happened to be there too.

What about the silence of everyone else?!


“A lot of this stonewalling is posturing they do to sell records” – NYPD Commisioner Raymond Kelly

How many times does the Police Commissioner have a press conference about an unsolved murder? Q-Tip said “there’s 8 million stories in this city”, what makes this one more important than the other unsolved murders in New York City? What about all the others who have refused to talk to the police? Why not call them out?

And Busta Rhymes is not a hardcore rapper. Busta is not posturing to sell any records. This is is not an attack on civic responsibility. It’s an attack on Hip-Hop by the Police Commissioner and the rest of the media. This is clearly the case because non-cooperation with the police is nothing new in the Black community.

It is unbelievable that in this day and age someone would think that Hip-Hop is the reason youth are not cooperating with the police. This phenomenon is not something that is isolated to Hip-Hop. It is something that is widespread in the Black community. I grew up in the Bronx and talking to the police was always a no-no. It wasn’t because the rappers said the police were not to be trusted, it was because history said the police are not to be trusted.

“It’s the code of the streets: You just don’t talk to the cops. That mistrust has a long history among people of color, but its really taken on a life of it’s own.” –Bakari Kitwana

The relationship that the police have developed with members of the Black community is clearly influenced by Machiavelli’s, “The Prince”. They have cultivated a relationship in the Black community based on fear – the fear that if you DON’T cooperate, whether you are guilty of anything or not, we will lock you up too. Or worse….

In the history of the United States, when have the police ever been of any REAL help to Blacks? I remember seeing dogs sicked on innocent marchers, I have seen pictures of lynchings, I have read about the overseer and slave patrols. (patrols being originated during slavery to make sure property did not escape off the plantation) Then there was COINTELPRO and now there is Homeland Security. Why would I trust the police?

It is even more unreal to think that non-cooperation with the police is the reason that Biggie and Tupac’s murders have not been solved. Let me give you a heads up. The people involved in the Biggie and Tupac murders WERE THE POLICE!! They may not have represented all police officers, but they were. The Wallace family just settled a million dollar lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles for withholding evidence. Trust the police?

Not to mention the fact that the police (starting with the NYPD) set up a special police unit that dealt specifically with rappers and other Hip-Hop artists. All they do is surveillance and wait for rappers to do the slightest thing, (i.e. double-parking on broadway, driving with tinted windows, or just being young, rich and black)

We have all seen the “Stop Snitching” video and the t-shirts that are being peddled in inner-city neighborhoods. The article claims that the T-shirt has made “snitching” not popular. “Snitching” has always been looked down upon in the Black community. Especially when doing it to a group that is not trusted in the first place. Its just that there happened to be a few enterprising negroes who decided to make money off of it.

As a black man in America I am always suspicious, I can name more times that the police have harassed me than helped me. We fit the description, are randomly searched and pulled over. I grew up blocks from where Amadou Diallo was shot by police for holding a wallet. My life experience tells me, the police are not here to prevent crime, they are just here to protect property and lock up the people who are or aren’t criminals. Why would I trust the police?

Like 50 said, “Police response never fast enough for shots fired”. And that’s the bottom line.

Sincerely,
Akil