The New York Police Department has officially launched an operations group that will specifically monitor crime at Hip Hop and Rap concerts.
The NYPD’s new squadron is an operations group, called the “Rap Unit.” They will be tasked to work on-the-ground through the department’s Enterprise Operations Unit. The team will create a list of weekly upcoming rap shows, which will be categorized based off low, medium, or high risk for violence or drug-related incidents. Afterwards, police will be assigned to work the events undercover to gather intelligence on individuals and artists they have on their watch list.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Recently, cops were planted at Remy Ma’s show at the Irving Plaza back in March 2018. At the time, they were spying on Remy herself and another member of her group Jahmeek “Jah” Elliot. Other artists included are 50 Cent and Tekashi 6ix9ine.
However in response, Remy’s lawyer, Dawn Florio, is calling out the police for their prejudice move. “My impression of the hip-hop police is they’re this shadowy, specialized unit that conducts overly aggressive investigations.” She added, “They’re constantly stalking high-profile rap artists and monitoring their every move.”
NYPD spokeswoman Sgt. Jessica McRorie is defending the unit’s purpose. She claims it does not discriminate against rap. “The Enterprise Operations Unit focuses on venues or entertainers that have been connected with past acts of violence — regardless of musical genre. The primary goal of EOU is to anticipate, based on past incidents, where there is a significant likelihood of violence, and to take steps to prevent people from being hurt, or worse,” she explained. She continued to credit the unit for its contribution to a number of major prosecutions, saying that it “continues to gather additional intelligence by responding to shootings and assaults that may occur at all kinds of entertainment venues.”
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