One of the most hotly debated topics in the hip-hop world is the New York Police Department’s reported clampdown on the rap industry.
In the wake of high-profile investigations into the slaying of Jam Master Jay, the joint FBI-NYPD raids on the offices of rap label Murder Inc., and the recent arrests of 50 Cent and Fabolous on weapons charges, the hip-hop community is abuzz with talk of an elite “hip-hop squad” or “rap task force” whose duties include tailing rappers’ vehicles and even monitoring their lyrics.
“There is no such thing,” said Detective Walter Burns, a senior NYPD spokesperson. “We have no hip-hop task force, no hip-hop unit, no hip-hop patrol.”
Police points out that when they do create task forces, like the Terrorism Task Force or the Hate Crimes Task Force, one of their purposes is to let the public know they’re making an extra effort to stop crime.
But many artists aren’t buying it.
“It’s definitely a task force,” Fat Joe said. “You go to hip-hop spots now and they ain’t just your normal walking-the-beat cops. There’s cops out there in undercover cars like they know something we don’t know. Like bin Laden’s in the club, B.”
“It’s just a thing where it’s targeting hip-hop,” Fabolous said. “I don’t think you should target something. If it’s a problem, you go handle the problem, that’s what cops are for. They are there to protect and serve. They’re not there to make a problem.”
