HIP HOP VS THE COPS EP. 4: HINDSIGHT IS 20/20
Description
As I have started the introspective study of my life since the documentary I created 17 years ago, I don’t want to stray from my initial inspiration that catapulted me into my fascination with law enforcement and Hip-Hop, but more specifically, the nuances, perception, and uneven legal ground created by criminal prosecutors using lyrics, and their visuals, to pursue their criminal cases.
Like the secret book I found, the use of song lyrics or the use of a music video to create a criminal narrative seemed as odd to me today as it did back in 2005. Art imitating life, or life imitating art, these questions I still struggle with as my understanding has deepened.
Jaeah Lee who wrote the aforementioned New York Times article, opens the piece with the story of Tommy Munsdwell Canady, an aspiring rapper from Racine, Wisconsin, and when I say aspiring, I mean he uploaded a few songs to Soundcould, a feat my 10yr old niece can do.
Police in Racine were looking for suspects in three recent shootings, one of the victims, Semar Mcclain who was 19 at the time, was found dead with a bullet in his temple.
If you you're a fan of The Dossier, please visit our Patreon page for free and paid content featuring exclusive documents, unedited interviews, monthly online meet-ups with other Dossier fans and the show creator, Don Sikorski. Goto Patreon.com/dossier
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
As hip hop and the war on drugs hit the mid 1980s, it can be argued that both commercial endeavors hit their strides in inner cities across the United States.
As crack cocaine exploded, members of the United States government enacted one of the first steps in the revolution of our criminal...
Published 11/20/24
If any story defines what New York was like at that time, it's the story of New York City subway vigilante Bernard Goetz's shooting of unarmed black teens.
On December 22, 1984, Barry Allen, Troy Canty, Darrell Cabey, and James Ramseur were shot and wounded by Bernard Goetz after they accosted...
Published 11/19/24