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Thread started 12/29/05 6:26am

laurarichardso
n

Good A rticle about Hip-Hop

Some people seemed to be a little confused about the Soulpatrol article about Hip-Hop, Music Business and Racism. Mr. Kelly makes it plain in this article.
I am also going to post the comments from readers at Eurweb.com.

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THE MO'KELLY REPORT: 'Misconstrue' This


2005 may be over, but I guess it wouldn’t be ‘right’ for 2005 to end without another rapper getting arrested. Imagine that, you say “guns, drugs, suspended license” and I say, “rapper arrested.”

But of course, once again…it’s not the fault of the rapper involved, no, never that. There’s always some explanation as to how he has been unfairly portrayed or mistreated by the arresting officers.

OK, so you’re probably wondering why I’m going here…again. Well, the getting arrested part I can ‘understand’ or ‘believe.’ We’re not in uncharted water in that respect or breaking new ground. So I can understand those of you wondering why I’ve even bothered this time around. We should all know the words to this song.

But THIS subsequent response to THIS arrest is somewhat different and makes me laugh out loud. These ‘public statements’ by a lawyer and a publicist written in response to the arrest are material written by comedic geniuses. I don’t who know writes these ‘public statements,’ but whoever it is or they are…should give up their day jobs and start slinging jokes for a living. That, and let me use them as fodder for The Mo’Kelly Report.

Case in point…

Former Cash Money rapper B.G. was “reportedly” arrested last week for gun and drug possession charges, while driving in Detroit. I put the word “reportedly” within quotation marks because B.G.’s lawyer and publicity machine have released statements alleging that the media misconstrued the facts in this arrest.

B.G’s lawyer released a written statement contending that the rapper was “stopped for driving a car with tinted windows, but he was held for driving with a suspended license and traffic tickets.”

Uh…let’s just imagine that the legal counsel’s contention turned out to be 100% true, his client is still an idiot. If you have traffic tickets that have turned into warrants for your arrest, a suspended license and are driving with windows tinted such that you are likely to be stopped and asked for your aforementioned suspended license…

You are an idiot…capital I, lowercase d-i-o-t.

But wait, there’s more…

The attorney went on to say that, “it is important to clarify that the police report verifies that no hard drugs were found in my client’s vehicle.”

The police report acknowledges small amounts of marijuana found in the vehicle and also reason for arrest.

Maybe it’s just me, but last I checked, police reports don’t make any distinction between supposed ‘hard drugs’ and ‘non-hard drugs.’ They only make the distinction between legal drugs and controlled substances…i.e. illegal drugs. It doesn’t matter if it is marijuana or crack…both are illegal and both will get your dumb a$$ arrested.

It’s laughable for anyone to put out a written statement alleging I somehow have the ‘facts’ misconstrued and try to use the Jedi mind trick to prove their point.

And notice that the statement released by the lawyer conveniently omits any reference to the gun in the car…at all. He just sort of glossed right over that. I guess that part, the media got ‘right.’ So if we check the tote board, let’s tally up the facts:

Excessively tinted windows = stoppable offense
Unpaid traffic tickets = warrants that WILL get you arrested
Suspended driver’s license = offense that WILL get you arrested
Possession of a controlled substance = offense that WILL get you arrested
Illegal possession of a firearm = offense that WILL get you arrested
One idiot behind the wheel with history of drug abuse with all of the above working for him = jailed idiot

Did I forget to mention anything?

The worst part of it all; and I mean this sincerely…is the attempt to capitalize on this criminal activity for the sake of album sales. Conveniently enough, the press releases that have been sent here and there in the hopes of ‘clarifying’ the ‘misconstrued’ facts of the arrest all ended with the impending release date of his upcoming album.

Don’t get me wrong, I can see this for what it is, recognize it accordingly and not surprised in the least. At the same time I refuse to let it slide by without duly acknowledging it for being something both unfortunate and decidedly unacceptable.

There is a real segment of police conduct which is inappropriate. We know this to be true, this is not a secret. We know that Driving While Black is also very real and can be very dangerous. But we should also know that neither of which applies in this instance.

To tell me in effect that “drugs weren’t actually found in B.G.’s car, ONLY marijuana” is a joke without a punch line. Marijuana is a drug, an illegal one…and that’s a fact. His lawyer alleging that the presence of Marijuana is a mitigating factor in this case, as opposed to crack is another unfunny quip. To tell me that B.G’s been “clean for three years,” in the paragraph RIGHT after the one with “marijuana was found in his car” is simply stupid. To tell me that the whole of the charges…and I’ll list them again…

Excessively tinted windows = stoppable offense
Unpaid traffic tickets = warrants that will get you arrested
Suspended driver’s license = offense that will get you arrested
Possession of a controlled substance = offense that WILL get you arrested
Illegal possession of a firearm = offense that WILL get you arrested

…are “minor” in nature is an affront to common sense, especially mine. What’s worst, it was all done under the guise of “clearing up the facts”…because allegedly “the media” had it all wrong. I guess one was compelled to make sure the truth was known…as well as the approaching album release date.

How noble of them…

I’m telling you, it’s a sad state on how we as African-Americans are twisting the history of mistreatment and abuse simply so we can excuse criminal behavior and also promote music arguably of self-hatred.

If there’s no debate as to reason B.G.’s was stopped, the status of his driver’s license, the traffic warrants for his arrest, the marijuana in his car…then you can save the misguided missive on how supposedly “the media” got it wrong.

The only “media” that got it wrong is the publicist who dared to send out a release in such a blithe manner. Maybe, more time should have been spent clearing up the unpaid tickets. Maybe, more time should have been spent keeping B.G. clean. If marijuana is found in YOUR car…it’s yours and you’re not clean. And if you use marijuana, you’re a drug user. Lastly, if you try to tell me otherwise, you’re an idiot. I’m not buyin’ ‘it’ and I’m definitely not buying the album.

Happy New Year Hip-Hop, let’s try not to get arrested as much in 2006.



The Mo'Kelly Report is an entertainment journal with a political slant. It is meant to inform, infuse and incite meaningful discourse...as well as entertain. The e-book "The Best of The Mo'Kelly Report" will be available in spring of 2006. Morris W. O'Kelly can be reached at dark.gable@sbcglobal.net and he welcomes all commentary.
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