Video After The Jump
Infamous Mobb Deep's Prodigy just finished a three year prison sentence on gun charges. In the months leading up to his conviction, and during his trial P learned a lot about the Hip Hop Task Force and how they operate. In this interview with VladTV, P breaks it all down.
"There's a task force that works alongside the gun squad. It's a gun squad in the NYPD. The gun squad usually rides around in yellow cabs in Manhattan and Queens," P said. "Their jurisdiction goes through all the boroughs. They can arrest you in any borough. They can follow you from Manhattan, to Bronx, to Brooklyn or wherever. They're allowed to do that."
"There's a task force that works alongside of them. The Hip Hop Task Force. A lot of people thought it was a myth at first. They [police] tried to deny it, but I actually met with the guy that started the task force during my trial," Prodigy continued. "He actually helped me out during my trial. His name is Derrick Parker. He put a book out called the 'Hip Hop Cop.' Basically he describes how he started the task force. They funded him... I guess the budget comes from the state or government or whatever. So the task force really exists."
One might think Prodigy would lash out at the police for being racist for targeting mostly blacks and hispanics, but P sees it differently.
"A lot of it we bring it upon ourselves because we're an easy target. Like if they see a car that looks like a rapper's car, with some black folks or puerto rican folks driving it. They're like 'yeah I'mma pull this car over because most likely there's a gun, or some weed, or something in that car right there.' You know, we have that stigma put upon us. That's not to say it's wrong or it's right, but a lot of it we bring upon ourselves," P said looking directly into the camera. "Because of how we talk in our songs. Because of how we carry ourselves, we bring that negative attention to us. So you really can't be mad at these dudes [police] for doing that."
Pretty interesting way to look at it, but is Prodigy right? Are rappers their own worst enemy when it comes to dealing with the law?
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