RAP/HIP-HOP: music input vs. police officers &
the criminal Justice system
In Rap and Hip-Hop, an "anti-police" mentality is very in many artists' music because they truthfully see police as a setback to society. These rappers and hip hop artist view the arrests of fellow residents in housing-projects and poor neighborhoods from a different perspective; these people are believed to have followed through with committing certain crimes as a result of being raised in a hostile environment. Such offenses include possessing weapons, possessing and selling drugs, robbing, assaulting and killing other people. Despite the harm caused by some individuals' actions, minor or major, some people are victims of police brutality. After the Rodney King incident in 1992 and the acquittal of the LAPD officers involved in the incident, Ice Cube and other West Coast rappers responded and spoke very negatively of the Los Angeles Police Department. In another instance, Mos Def, Nas, Talib Kweli and other New-York rappers brought their music to the streets to protest against police brutality after Amadou Diallo was shot 41 times in New York City in 1999 by the police and all of the officers were acquitted.
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