Rapper Papoose has been following the Sean Bell incident since it occurred. Immediately following it, Papoose brought attention to the case with his song “Change Gon Come (50 Shots).”
The New York rapper continues to be in the mix, as he spoke with XXL about his reaction to the police officers’ proclaimed innocence. “I was furious when I heard about the verdict. Because it goes all the way back to Emmitt Till who was
murdered in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman; the police
walked into the courtroom laughing and they walked out of the courtroom
laughing. It’s the same thing they did in the Sean Bell case.”
Papoose went on to explain that when the police that shot Bell waived their right to a trial by jury, he foresaw an unpopular decision. “It was supposed to be in the hands of the [jury]. And
they took it out of the hands of the people and they put it into the
hands of somebody who has the same mentality as the people who pulled
the trigger.”
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“It’s never too late to speak up,” he added, encouraging other artists to address the issue.
Papoose also took the time to address reports that he is facing a lawsuit from Bed-Stuy Volunteer Ambulance Corp. for allegedly misleading the company about the nature of his video for the song “Ambulance.”
“In no way, shape, or form was the video directed toward any rapper, “
he said. “The video was intended to show that the volunteer ambulance
company actually responds to save lives faster than the police or city
ambulance does. Instead of focusing on videos, [Daily News writer]
Veronika Belenkaya should focus on more serious topics like innocent
black men being killed by the police.”
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According to the New York Daily News, Rocky Robinson, the founder of the Corp; says that Papoose deceived the company about the purpose of the video. “His people told us the video would be about the neighborhood and how we respond to save lives,” he said of the video, in which two EMT’s are trying to save the life of an injured man.
It is widely believed that the song is aimed at Uncle Murda. “We don’t want to be a part of something where somebody gets hurt,” said Robinson, who plans to sue Papoose. He added that the rapper “probably hasn’t got much, but we’ll sue anyway. Our image is everything to us.”
