Hip Hop Spy

After saying goodbye on concert stages and online video streams, Lil Wayne had nothing to add as he was sentenced Monday to a year in jail for having a loaded gun on his tour bus.

The Grammy Award-winning rapper delivered only a brief bow to fans and supporters as he was led out of a courtroom in handcuffs to start serving his sentence.

With that, Lil Wayne headed off to face his punishment in a case that had shadowed him as he became one of music’s most prolific and profitable figures in recent years. Arrested in July 2007, he pleaded guilty in October to attempted criminal possession of a weapon. He admitted he had the loaded .40-caliber semiautomatic gun on his bus.

His lawyer, Stacey Richman, said the rapper was resolute as he was taken away.

“He knew what he had to do, and he’s doing it,” she said.

Lil Wayne will serve his sentence in the Rikers Island jail complex. Richman said she expected he would be held in protective custody, but the city Correction Department said it was still deciding on that. Protective custody is given to inmates who, for a variety of reasons including notoriety, require separation from the general prison population.

The 27-year-old rap star could be released in about eight months with good behavior. But then he will face his trial in Arizona on more charges which will probaly get him a even stiffer sentence. Arizona is waiting for his N.Y sentence to be complete before he will go on trial and be sentenced again to even more time in Tent City in Arizona.

It has been reported that, Gangsta Boo has turned herself in to police after allegedly robbing a Dollar General store in Olive Branch, Mississippi back in July.

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Gangsta Boo was later released on $100,000 bond and charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

It is still unclear what Gangsta Boo’s role in the robbery may have been. So far police have revealed that another suspect in the robbery, Marcus Curtis, held up the Dollar General and armed with a black revolver he forced employee’s to empty a safe. We at HipHopSpy have to say if you are ignorant enough to rob something that is going to get you a minimum of 15 years in jail if caught why rob a dollar store ? I know they only accept cash but it isn’t like robbing a brinks truck. Not a smart move , she will get major time for this. How many rappers are going to jail this year ? I need to make a list.

“I did not steal when I was homeless, if I did not steal when I was starving, then I certainly will not steal $3,500 worth of jewelry, while you are wearing $250,000 worth of jewelry,” Williams explained in an interview.

“They misunderstood. They thought that I was an average typical negro. I am no such a thing. I don’t talk like it. I don’t act like it. I don’t walk like it and I don’t hang with people that do…Now if there is some crime that I committed then I will be locked up but if not you are assaulting someone that shouldn’t be assaulted and I think you are picking on the wrong one…

They said I was bankrupt. The same day they said I was bankrupt I got a check for Pimpin Pimpin for 1.4 million dollars. I haven’t cashed it. I still got it! Then last week Katt Williams Pimpadelic sold 1.6 million dollars. I’m trying to figure out how a n*gga with 3 million dollars is stealing $3500 worth of jewelry in Coweta County, Georgia, while he rides around in a Bentley. I don’t understand it.”

METHOD MAN is facing up to four years behind bars after authorities in New York charged him with tax evasion.

The Wu-Tang Clan rapper – real name Clifford Smith – surrendered to police on Monday 05Oct09 and was arraigned in Staten Island’s Stapleton Criminal Court.

He is accused of failing to pay personal income tax from 2004 to 2007, totalling $32,799 (£21,870), not including fees and penalties. He faces a felony charge of repeated failure to file personal income and earnings tax. He also faces a misdemeanour charge of failure to pay tax.
Prosecutors have vowed to fiercely go after the star.

Beanie Sigel was arrested Sunday after a traffic stop resulted in a search where police found weed in the rapper’s vehicle.

According to Sgt. Julian Castellanos, spokesman for the New Jersey State Police, authorities found just under 50 grams of the substance before arresting the Philly rapper, along with the driver and another passenger. The three were actually en route to Kelly’s Bar in New Jersey where Sigel was set to have a private performance, but clearly that would have to be cancelled without the star of the show.

The others arrested as a result of the incident were Karl S. Dargan, 24, and Justin S. Gaines, 25, who were also charged with possession.
In terms of the music side of things, the State Property leader is still set to be releasing his upcoming project entitled, The Broad Street Bully, which is set for September 1. For those that have seen the tracklist and have found familiar tracks, the album has been dubbed as being a mixtape/album. There have also been rumors that Freeway and Sigel are in the works of releasing a collaborative album.

One thing is for certain if it wasn’t apparent the last go around with The Solution and that is the fact that Sigel may be on his own if Jay has really stepped away so it’s time to put the suit and tie on and get your business together. So, let’s have this be the last mishap and try and keep it positive.

A Florida rapper is sentenced to two years in prison for a song called ‘Kill Me a Cop’ that he produced as a teenager.

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Authorities say 20-year-old Antavio Johnson raps about killing two Lakeland, Fla., police officers in the tune, which cops found on MySpace while surfing for gang-related activity.

Johnson pleaded no contest to two counts of corruption by threat of a public servant and was sentenced to two years in prison last month. He was already in jail on a cocaine charge at the time. …

Singing about killing a cop was not Johnson’s first mistake. Pleading guilty and not hiring a lawyer were. Just ask Ice Cube and N.W.A., who sang fuck tha Police’ as a form of police protest more than 20 years ago.

Back in 1988, N.W.A had everyone from the FBI to the Secret Service breathing down its neck and lawsuits galore. If someone could have figured out a way to charge the group with a crime, lock ‘em up and throw away the key, I’m sure it would’ve happened.

According to the Daily Beast, Johnson was trying to make a similar lyrical protest when he wrote ‘Kill Me a Cop,’ about two police officers who harassed him.

The song announced: “Im’ma kill me a cop one day.” It called out two specific officers by name, both of whom would be shot with a “glock” in the “dome” if they ever “get my timing wrong.” The best part is not the snappy lyrics. If you Google this kid’s name, you’ll see that he’s a self-proclaimed Christian rapper.

Anyway, did Johnson deserve a two-year sentence for some stupid lyrics he wrote as a teenager? No, of course not.

Should we be surprised that a judge would hand down such a harsh sentence? No. Not at all. To quote professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.: “This is what happens to black men in America!”

After all, there’s some real irony here. This case is not about free speech and it’s not about a legitimate threat to a police officer’s life. It’s about Johnson and the N.W.A. and Gates and countless others who have been complaining about an unfair justice system for decades. At the root of this system is institutionalized police harassment of black people.

But wait a minute, you say. Shouldn’t Johnson get some punishment for making a specific threat at these cops? Yes. If you threaten a cop, there should be consequences. But two years in jail for a song that was never played on the radio? This sounds like more injustice and harassment to me.

Did we accuse John McCain of war crimes for singing “bomb, bomb Iran?”

It’s not about a crime, it’s about the authority and attempts to silence protest. And until something changes, people like Johnson will be rapping and singing about police harassment for decades to come.

The good news is this young man has a lawyer now and the ACLU at his back. He could get his sentence knocked down or thrown out in an appeal. Video is below