Excessive force: SWAT teams vs. Hip Hop

Aint this some bullshit!

Last night, a federal SWAT team assisted the RIAA in a raid on the studio of Atlanta musician DJ Drama.

This local news report says the locally famous mixtape DJ is under investigation for piracy. But Drama's supporters say the DJ is a mix artist, not a bootlegger. They say news footage of the raid shows RIAA officials boxing up only recordable CDs filled with mixes, not bootlegs of retail CDs (the local news reporter seems to conflate the two as well).

Assuming for a moment that RIAA and federal officials do indeed know the difference between a mash-up DJ and a bootleg operation, and that they did find evidence of actual piracy in the bust, there's still the problem of why RIAA officials were participating in a police action, and why a SWAT team was used to raid a professional studio under investigation for a nonviolent, white-collar crime.

Yeah, this is bullshit! I personally work with Interscope Records, Warner Brothers, G-Unit Records, and others in their street promotion efforts in Miami. I'll tell you first-hand, as will the average Hip Hop fan, that these major labels actively support (financially and cooperatively) DJ's who produce and distribute mix CDs, such as DJ Drama. The RIAA is out of hand and so is the use of a SWAT team. This is bullshit!

And you wonder why the police gets such a bad rap in the inner city.