By L.D.Williams Jr.
Hip Hop Artists are having an increasing amount of trouble with the law . Why are rap's biggest stars spending more time behind bars instead of writing them?
In late 2005 Lil Wayne released his fifth studio album called The Carter II. The album was a critical and commercial success because the album sold over one million copies. In 2006 and 2007 Lil Wayne would further establish himself as a prominent force in hip hop with several outstanding mixtapes like Da Drought 3 and his collaborative with DJ Drama called Dedication 2. In addition to his several critically successful mixtapes Lil Wayne also made his presence felt with several guest appearances. Some of the laundry list of artists that Lil Wayne worked with included: Playaz Circle, Little Brother, Kanye West and Jay-Z. With Lil Wayne's charisma, delivery and fan appeal he has clearly established himself as an individual that is in a class by himself.
Lil Wayne may stand in exclusive company as an artist but he is in a disturbing popular crowd that includes several of his hip hop peers. The crowd that I am alluding to is hip hop artists that are having brushes with the law. On January 22nd, 2008 Lil Wayne was arrested near Yuma, Arizona on three felony counts for possession of dangerous drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of narcotics.
Lil Wayne's tour bus was pulled over and searched by US Border Patrol and they found drugs on the bus. Some of the drugs that the DEA found included: marijuana, cocaine and ecstasy.
Three days later Lil Wayne (born Dwayne Michael Carter) was formally charged in an Arizona courtroom. Lil Wayne was formally charged with one count each of possession of a narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving weapons as well as one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. A preliminary trial has been set for February 12th, 2008.
Lil Wayne is not the only one that has been in and out of court rooms lately. Busta Rhymes pled guilty to driving drunk, suspended license, and two counts of aggravated assault. As a result of his guilty plea Busta Rhymes (born Trevor Smith) will face three years of probation. Busta Rhymes last album release was 2006's The Big Bang. Busta Rhymes is now diligently working on his eighth studio album due out in 2008 called Back On My B.S.
Busta Rhymes is not the only New York hip hop star that has entered a guilty plea within the last six months.
Prodigy, one half of the influential rap group Mobb Deep entered a guilty plea on October 9th, 2007. He entered a guilty plea for unlawful weapon charges. As a result of this being Prodigy's third weapons violation he initially faced up to fifteen years in prison. As a result of a plea bargain he was able to get the hefty sentence reduced to three and a half years.
Prodigy had released Return of the Mac. The mixtape album is to serve as a prequel to his upcoming LP H.N.I.C. 2 the sequel to his 2000 debut.
Prodigy is not the only rap artist that faced a publicized weapons charge.
T.I. (born Clifford Harris Jr) was arrested hours before the BET Music Awards. He was subsequently charged with two felonies possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He was arrested in front of a Walgreens located North and Piedmont Avenues after trying to purchase guns from a cooperating witness with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
T.I. was released from jail on a three million dollar bond. He is now on house arrest. He can only leave the house to go to court or for a medical appointment. Any body that visits the platinum star's house must undergo a criminal background check.
At the time of his arrest T.I. was enjoying the success of his platinum selling fifth album T.I. vs. TIP. Despite T.I's legal woes he is readying his sixth solo album called Paper Trail.
Hip Hop Stars Behind Bars is a Co-Ed Party
The old adage that a woman can do whatever a man can do is definitely accurate statement when discussing clashes with law enforcement officials.
Just ask Remy Ma (real name Remy Smith) on July 14th, 2007 she turned herself in to New York City Police after allegedly shooting her best friend Makeda Barnes-Joseph. The incident allegedly occurred outside The Pizza Bar in the Meat Packing District. Just before Barnes Joseph could be hauled off in an ambulance she was able to identify the Grammy nominated rapper as the assailant.
Remy Ma and Barnes- Joseph was at the Pizza Bar to celebrate a mutual friends birthday. When the party was over Remy Ma left the upscale eatery and got into a blue Cadillac Escalade with three men. Ten minutes after getting into the luxury vehicle with the three men Remy Ma got out of the vehicle got into Barnes Joseph's Nissan Maxima and shot her twice in the midsection according to the New York Daily News. All of the charges allegedly stem from a disagreement over two thousand dollars. Remy Ma accused Barnes- Joseph of stealing the two thousand dollars because she was the last person to hold her purse. Remy Ma subsequently surrendered to law enforcement officials at the 66th precinct station house in Greenwich Village. She was charged with assault, possession of a weapon, and attempted murder. In addition to the charges of assault, possession of a weapon and attempted murder Remy Ma lost a battle in court in December of 2007 when a Manhattan judge refused to dismiss witness tampering charges against her.
While Remy Ma has been charged but not convicted of anything her female hip hop peer Foxy Brown has been convicted and is sitting in jail.
Even while she is in jail she still manages to make headlines with her behavior. In the year 2007 alone Foxy Brown (real name Inga Merchand) has managed to make public waves for things that are not hip-hop related. In February of 2007 Foxy Brown was involved in an altercation in a beauty supply store. She was in Queens Beauty Supply Store in Pembroke Pines, Florida. She purchased some hair glue at the store. When she was told that she had to leave she unsuccessfully tried to squirt some hair glue at the owner of the store. She went on to knock over some display cases and threaten the store owner. The rapper was eventually apprehended in the parking lot of the plaza after she had to be taken down with force by the police.
Two weeks after her spat in Florida she pleaded guilty to a probation violation for leaving the state of New York without permission. In August of 2007 Brown turned herself in for felony assault after she allegedly assaulted someone with a Blackberry. Less than a month removed from the 'Blackberry incident' Brown was jailed for a year because of a probation violation that was related to a 2004 fight with two manicurists in New York City.
With good behavior brown can be eligible for parole in May of 2008. One could question how good of a prisoner Brown has been during her jail tenure because she was sentenced to solitary confinement in October of 2007 after an altercation with another prisoner. Thirty four days into her seventy six day commitment she was released from solitary confinement.
Foxy Brown in now trying to segue her recent stint of good behavior into an early release.
On January 15th, 2008 an appeal was filed with the hopes that Foxy Brown would be granted an early release so that her hearing loss condition could be treated. Foxy Brown was diagnosed with sudden hearing loss in 2005.
What Does This All Mean?
What is going on in the world of hip hop is unfortunate. Lil Wayne is undoubtedly one of the most hard working individuals in the genre today. T.I. has been not only commercially and critically successful as a recording office but he has also proven to be a valuable commodity on the silver screen. His appearances in the motion pictures ATL and American Gangster is evidence of his acting prowess. Busta Rhymes has also been able to prove his worth as a recording artist and an actor. He has made several film appearances and all of his albums have garnered critical acclaim and most of them have been commercially successful also. Prodigy's influence on the hip hop sound is unquestionable. His contributions on 1995's Infamous helped to change the landscape of East Coast hip hop.
Remy Ma is probably the most talented active female artist in hip hop today. While all three of Foxy Brown's solo albums have garnered commercial notoriety. Lil Wayne, T.I, Busta Rhymes, and Prodigy sounds like the nucleus of a good Summer Jam concert. Unfortunately at the rate these individuals are moving if it were to occur it would be for a limited audience in a state funded institution.
The Grammy awards had to remove the Best Female Solo performance award largely because two thirds of the viable contenders are overwhelmed with logging hours in the court room versus the studio.
In a culture that trends are followed to a large degree this is a trend that is not admirable by any stretch at all. While no rapper has gone on record to simultaneously sign a contract to be a role model when they sign record deals the unflattering truth is rap artists are role models whether they like it or not, albeit not a convenient responsibility it is a responsibility none the less.
It is part of the job of an artist to adhere to this responsibility not only to their record company, their family and themselves but most importantly to the fans.
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