Hip Hop vs. The Cops

FOR NEARLY 20 YEARS, FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT LED BY A SECRET AND INSIDIOUS NYPD TASK FORCE HAS, HAD THE HIP-HOP MUSIC INDUSTRY UNDER CLANDESTINE AND TIGHT SURVEILLANCE. HIP HOP VS COPS IS A NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN DOCUMENTARY SERIES THAT UNCOVERS THE CONTROVERSIAL CRIME UNIT, ITS LONG-STANDING OBSESSION WITH HIP HOP, AND THE ARTISTS AND ENTERPRISES IT HAS ACTIVELY TARGETED OVER THE DECADES.

THE SET UP In In 2001, a secret task force called the Rap Intelligence Unit was created inside the NYPD. The specialized unit was created by a lone gang officer after a string of violent shootings in New York City caused front page headlines and grabbed the attention of then Chief of Police William Bratton. The directive was to not only investigate the Hip-Hop industry, but to start surveillance operations on some of the stars. 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Fat Joe, Mobb Deep, The Game and many others were followed, and their entourages targeted by seasoned NYPD investigators.

Not long after, a 500 Page Dossier was leaked, compiled by the NYPD and another secretive federal law enforcement entity called HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area).

The intelligence unit was an intel clearinghouse for the DEA, the FBI, US Marshalls, and local police, consisting of a sophisticated database that kept records and surveillance documents on drug kingpins, weapons traffickers, and major criminals they attributed with the hip hop industry.

HIP HOP VS COPS sheds light on this infamous unit and for the first time ever, uncovers bombshell new information surrounding the formidable role the task force still plays on the Hip-Hop industry today.

ABOUT THE SERIES HIP HOP VS COPS is a four-part documentary series that examines law enforcement’s obsession with the Hip-Hop industry.

We will highlight former and current detectives from the Rap Intel Unit inside the NYPD, along with members of federal law enforcement, the media, and civil rights attorneys and activists.

And for the first time to the public, this series will reveal the inner workings of the secret HIDTA Division, and how they have continued to target artists, musicians, and the Hip-Hop industry of today.

PART ONE: THE ORIGIN STORY What were the true origins behind NYPD’s Rap Intelligence Unit, and who were they targeting? We go back in time as we trace the rise of this secret unit and the original Hip-Hop Dossier that was uncovered.

The involvement of federal law enforcement inside

The unsubstantial probe by the DEA led to no

the Hip-Hop industry has deep and meaningful

charges, and in a twist of irony, Chad Scott was

history. The first significant and historical case

convicted in 2019 of running a drug crew inside

was the investigation of Rap-A-Lot Records

the DEA that extorted drug dealers along the

Founder James Prince and Hip-Hop Legend

Gulf Coast.

Scarface in the 1990s.

There are legal implications of tracking Led by DEA Agent Chad Scott and Chuck

members of the Hip-Hop community in federal

Schumacher, the probe falsely a leged that

law enforcement databases.

James Prince ran a major narcotics operation in Houston.

History has shown that, secret surveillance tools barred from certain types of jobs, shut out of will almost certainly be abused for political ends their bank accounts, and repeatedly questioned and turned disproportionately on minorities.

by authorities. Once information is in the government’s hands, it can be shared widely

The government’s collection of this information

and retained for years, and the rules about

is a smoking gun invasion of privacy, but its use

access and use can be changed entirely in secret

of thisddata is also rife with abuse.

without the public ever knowing.

Innocuous data is fed into bloated watchlists

As we uncover the Dossier, we explore the

with severe consequences; innocent individuals

endless civil rights violations that were

have found themselves unable to board planes,

committed throughout the years.

PART TWO: HIP HOP CRIME & PUNISHMENT Part Two delves into the high-profile crimes that took place within the Hip-Hop music industry, and how the secret rap unit handled each case.

THE ARREST AND CONVICTION OF LIL WAYNE ON GUN CHARGES AT THE HANDS OF THE RAP UNIT

THE INVESTIGATION, ARREST, AND TRIAL OF BOBBY SHMURDA AND HIS GS9 CREW

In ‘07, Lil Wayne was arrested on weapons charges

In 2016, Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda accused

after police found one loaded gun on his tour bus.

of leading Crips street gang GS9, was found guilty of

Many speculated that the Rap Unit had Wayne under

conspiracy to commit murder and drug and weapons

surveillance for close to 18 months prior to his

charges, along with 15 defendants who were charged

arrest.

with murder, attempted murder, and drug dealing.

THE MONEY LAUNDERING INVESTIGATION THAT LED TO A MURDER ATTEMPT OF 50 CENT.

JIMMY HENCHMAN CHARGED WITH TRAFFICKING, MONEY LAUNDERING, & WITNESS TAMPERING.

The money-laundering trial of Irv Gotti, the hip-hop

In 20 11, Jimmy Rosemond was arrested and

producer, and his brother centering on allegations

charged in the Eastern District of NY with the“The

of financial misdeeds at the offices of his record la-

Kingpin Statute.” The 13-count indictment alleged

bel, Murder Inc., in a glass tower on the West Side of

he was the leader of a nationwide, drug organization

Manhattan.

using the cover of his Hip-Hop music business.

PART THREE: THE FEDS ARE WATCHING Part three will delve into the most glaring involvement of the Rap Intel’s work: the investigation and conviction of rapper Tekashi69 and the Nine Trey Bloods, a street gang responsible for shootings, robberies, assaults, anddrug dealing.

The Nine Trey Bloods Gang was in the crosshairs Although Homeland Security Investigations and of federal law enforcement for nearly five years, the DEA took credit for the case, it was the NYPD and Takeshi69 – who was involved with the gang

Rap Intel Unit that planted bugs inside Takeshi’s

for just one year in 2018 - was charged with

car and logged many man hours tracking him

managing and operating the notorious gang.

and the Nine Trey Bloods across the country.

Takeshi was an easy mark, someone the federal

We also examine the Southern District, notoriously

government and the NYPD could leverage.

known as a “gladiator arena” of NYC criminal

Tekashi69 later became a federal government

prosecution, and show why it is the perfect venue

informant and star witness for the prosecution.

to build cases against Hip-Hop music and culture in order to make careers generate headlines,

PART FOUR: UNDERCOVER INSIDE HIP-HOP Part four delves into the well-kept secret surrounding confidential informants inside the Hip-Hop music industry who have been working with the Rap Unit for years.

For the first time, we hear from former NYPD-

As we head into 2020, what does being under

FBI Detective Bill Courtney about his work

surveillance mean for a multi-billion-dollar

undercover inside Hip-Hop, which brought

global business?

cases against Haitian Jack, Tupac, Irv Gotti, and Kenneth Supreme McGriff. How do these

Finally, we examine the responsibility that the

undercover operations work?

major labels have in regard to the relationship between the industry and law enforcement. Is

We examine the 2019 Rolling Loud Concert,

there a justification for the NYPD unit, and how

where prominent artists Pop Smoke, Cassanova,

far reaching is this surveillance?

Don Q, Sheff G, and 22gz were not allowed to perform due to concerns over gang violence.