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The NYPD Escalates Its War On Drill Music, Forcing Rolling Loud To Cancel Three Rappers’ Sets

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The New York Police Department and New York’s Mayor Eric Adams have been at war with the city’s bubbling underground drill rap scene for a while now. Today, the authorities appear to have escalated the conflict, requesting the Rolling Loud festival to remove three rappers from its lineup just days ahead of the event this weekend, according to the New York Times‘ longtime music reporter Joe Coscarelli. The three rappers — 22Gz, Ron Suno, and Sha Ek — have been booked to perform for months.

The Times report compares the last-minute move against the rappers to a similar request issued by the NYPD ahead of the 2019 concert, which removed 22Gz and Pop Smoke from the lineup (22Gz was allowed to perform in 2021; Pop Smoke, unfortunately, was killed in a home invasion in Los Angeles in 2020). According to the request letter sent that year, the performers in question were “affiliated with recent acts of violence citywide. The New York City Police Department believes if these individuals are allowed to perform, there will be a higher risk of violence.”

The report quotes Sha Ek’s manager Noodles, who said, “The police try to associate what he’s doing with violence and negativity. They don’t respect that he’s an artist and entertainer trying to better himself and feed his family at 19 years old. Sha Ek has performed all over the Northeast this year. The crowds at his concerts are full of kids dancing and having fun. He’s excited to keep growing his touring business and proving the police wrong.”

Likewise, Ron Suno’s manager Bo also reacted to the news. “How can a person who has no criminal record and no gang ties — the kid never even made a diss record — be denied to perform in his hometown after all his hard work?” he wondered. A representative for 22Gz confirmed his cancelation but declined to comment further; 22Gz was recently charged with attempted murder in a nightclub shooting in June.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

20-Year-Old Woman Killed on Upper East Side While Pushing Her Baby in a Stroller

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NYPD to Disband Plain Clothes Anti Crime Unit

On Wednesday, a 20-year-old mother pushing her 3-month-old baby in a stroller in New York City’s Upper East Side was killed by a gunshot up close in the back of the head. Law enforcement believes it was a targeted shooting.

In a news conference, New York City Mayor Eric Adams spoke about the national problem of gun violence.

“Shot at point-blank range shows how this national problem impacts families,” Adams said, according to the New York Daily News. “Doesn’t matter if you’re on the Upper East Side or in the Bronx.”

The shooting occurred near the Samuel Seabury Playground near the intersection of 95 St and Lexington Ave. The shooting happened around 8:25 p.m.

The baby was unharmed in the incident. The shooter is still at large.

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Roddy Ricch Blasts NYPD on Summer Jam Stage After Being Arrested for Gun Possession

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Roddy Ricch and J Balvin Withdraw from MTV VMAs Performances

Roddy Ricch was in New York City for a couple of festival performances. During his visit, Ricch found himself in the crosshairs of NYPD when he attempted to enter Governors Ball Festival as he was arrested for gun possession.

Ricch would make Summer Jam on Sunday and delivered a message to the New Jersey crowd. “Can I hear everybody in here say ‘Fuck NYPD’?” Roddy said to the crowd.

You can see the moment here.

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NYPD’s “Operation Drilly” Leads to Arrest of 20 After Studying Drill Music Videos

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NYPD to Disband Plain Clothes Anti Crime Unit

The NYPD did a sweep, arresting over 20 alleged gang members in the Bronx. According to the New York Daily News, of the 20 members, four were adolescents and were arrested for their roles in violence in the past three years. Authorities used drill music videos to track down their subjects for arrests.

The 82-count indictment highlights murders and attempted murders. 32 violent crimes are highlighted in the last 36 months, including shooting during the middle of the day that was boasted about in music videos. The police dubbed the investigation “Operation Drilly” and recovered 18 guns. Charges include murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, weapons possession, assault, and grand larceny.

“The defendants allegedly committed multiple shootings, some in broad daylight, killing two people and injuring innocent bystanders,” said Bronx DA Darcel Clark. “These defendants terrorized residents of the Fordham/Bedford Park neighborhoods who were forced to run for their lives as bullets flew.”

Those arrested are believed to be members of the G-Side/Drilly gang, a set of the Bloods Sex Money Murder collective. The crimes were allegedly bragged on in music videos across YouTube. The Daily News highlights Lee Drilly x E-Wuu’s video for “BET” as one of the videos.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Larry Davis Killed in Shawangunk Prison 14 Years Ago

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Some say he was 50 Cent before 50 Cent. Some called him “the Robin Hood of The Ghetto”, while the establishment dubbed him “the crack city terminator.” In the hood, his solution is considered the only possible answer to a continuous epidemic of police brutality. Some of your favorite rappers from French Montana to Lloyd Banks to Jay-Z have name-dropped him on their tracks and BET felt he was so important to American culture that their American Gangster series had to open with him, but only an educated few know why the name Larry Davis continues to ring bells more than three decades after that fateful night in November of ’86.

On February 20, 2008, Adam Abdul Hakeem aka Larry Davis, was stabbed to death in Shawangunk State Prison in New York by a fellow inmate after serving 23 years for an illegal weapons charge. Most would say that people die in American prisons daily, so what’s the big deal about another dead prisoner? Well, it must first be explained why Mr. Davis was in prison for so long on a mere gun charge in the first place.

As he said on camera after his capture in 1986, “the police gave me the guns!”, that Davis was finally charged with after being acquitted for shooting 6 NYPD officers. The then 21-year-old BX native’s defense was that he shot the officers in self-defense. Davis exposed that he sold drugs for these Bronx precinct officers, claiming that they wanted to kill him because of what he knew about the drug operation within the department and a Bronx jury believed him. This case was the first and very possibly the only time in American history that a civilian was cleared of all charges in the shooting of a police officer.

The NYPD and then-Mayor Edward Koch were outraged at the outcome. After Larry’s death, the former Mayor Koch was quoted as saying, “The prison system did what the criminal justice system could not.” It’s safe to say that with the endless accusations against the NYPD and other police departments around the country for brutality against Black and brown people, the sentiment of sympathy for Larry Davis has been met with fierce opposition.

With the recent killings of Black youth by police and civilians becoming the norm, the question in the urban community is whether or not Larry Davis’ solution to police brutality is the only option left. With normal citizens being given the option to shoot first and ask questions later when it comes to Black youth and the prison industrial complex as the penalty for defending yourself, the bare truth is that it has become the only option to some. With landmark cases from Emmitt Till to Botham Jean, history reveals that people such as Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, and even Larry Davis will always be heroes. We’ve heard Larry’s name come from the mouths of everyone from ATCQ to Jay-Z.

Check out Larry’s story on Troy Reed’s Street Stories Larry Davis: A Routine Typical Hit, BET’s American Gangster series and is also rumored to be in the hands of several filmmakers, which could possibly spawn the story on the silver screen.

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