kingdrake1:

spaceagehustle:

brandon4serious:

dalatu:

spaceagehustle:

Roach Gigz “Pop Off” (Internet, 2010)

Shot by Aris Jerome on the days leading up to, and the day of, the Mehserle verdict in the Oscar Grant case. 

The manslaughter verdict reached by the jury (in the face of evidence pointing to second-degree murder) is yet another example of a corrupt justice system, both at the state and federal levels.  As Noz (and others) noted on the day the verdict came down, it’s not simply “fuck the police”, it’s “fuck the system that allows the police to get away with criminal acts”.

-$M

(via Mister Wheeler)

In talking about the song, I only have to say that Roach Gigz is not and has not stopped being better than most rappers. Strong rapping, quality hook writing, a great ear for beats, and seems to never be in a video that does not look great. What can Roach not do?

Ugh, Roach is whatever. This is more to do with Soft Money’s mini political assertion. The person responsible for Oscar Grant’s senseless death did not “get away with” a “criminal act”—he simply didn’t receive the sentence, you and others, who weren’t there for the trial, etc. think he should’ve received.

This is important. And you need to watch your language when you start spouting off the politics you grabbed from rap records or the politics you grabbed from rap fans who grabbed them from rap records.

No.  This is a complete misreading of what I said.  I wasn’t referring to this specific case with my “criminal acts” comment (though, arguably, it applies).  Rather, I was discussing my belief that the verdict in this case was unjust, and using that as jumping off point to speak on our country’s criminal justice system.

Manslaughter and second-degree murder are distinct offenses.  Certainly it is my feeling that the verdict (which is separate and distinct from sentencing) was incorrect given the facts surrounding the case (at least those made available to the public — the only set of facts upon which I can draw conclusions), but the idea that I should “watch what I say” when discussing political issues is short-sighted. 

Brandon jumps to the conclusion that I have drawn my “politics” from rap records and rap fans who draw their politics from rap records, when in fact, my judgment and feelings on this particular case (and on the state of criminal justice in the U.S. in the aggregate) is guided by my own personal experience in the area of criminal defense.

My point is, if we live in a society where a cop can handcuff someone, put him on the ground, shoot him to death, and then be convicted of manslaughter — a verdict which essentially boils down to the jury saying Mehserle “made a mistake in the heat of the moment” — when juxtaposed against life sentences resulting from the three-strikes law or a “true” case of a death occuring in the “heat of passion” (such as a the killing of an abusive spouse during an attack) — IMO, that system is inherently flawed. 

Again, it’s about the verdict and the message that verdict sends to law enforcement (and the government’s failure to carry its burden), that I find so troublesome because it completely fails to curtail police from using deadly force. 

So, with respect, and with personal knowledge of the internal machinations of state criminal justice systems, I reserve the right to comment on political issues along with rap music.  You can disagree.  Just don’t assume you know what informs my beliefs.

That is important, as well.

-$M

Also, Brandon is 100% rong about Roach Gigz / ‘doesnt get it’

As always, ignoring David Drake. SM, you win for stating the obvious (cops do bad things) but doesn’t really address my point here? Of course you can comment on these things but I am also allowed to tell you that I think you look silly and or are just flat-out off-base on a topic. Not questioning your knowledge of law, etc. but indeed, you framed this around rap music (“fuck the police”), I didn’t. 

Also, I think that exactly what you described—a dumb-ass cop handcuffed a dude and shot him, not thinking, in the heat of the moment—is how this was viewed and for that “reason” (mind the quotes) the verdict came back as it did. I don’t agree with it either, but it makes sense. Or “makes sense”, as it were. I think repeating goofy slogans about the police and or just generally saying the sort of stuff that’s always said about why police suck and the system and blah blah blah is a waste of time and does no cause much good. I don’t come out of your response with anything but a sense that the law is unfair (duh) and cops abuse power (double duh).

You weren’t writing a thesis on Oscar Grant, etc. I know, but if you take the time to respond to what I said, you might as well say more than you did.