Essay 416

Inspired by the current Busta Rhymes controversy, The New York Times published a story about rappers refusing to snitch. A few highlights:

“We believe there were between 30 and 50 people on the sidewalk at the scene of a [Busta Rhymes-related] homicide, and no one has come forward to volunteer information,” said Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly. “It’s challenging for investigators, and I find it disturbing.”

“It’s the code of the streets: You just don’t talk to the cops,” said Bakari Kitwana, the author of “The Hip-Hop Generation.” “That mistrust has a long history among people of color, but it’s really taken on a life of its own.”

“Everyone is jumping on the stop-snitching bandwagon,” said Minya Oh, better known as Miss Info, who has a show on hip-hop radio station Hot 97. “It’s all the rage. Even if you have a conversation with police, you’ll be called a snitch.”

“In the hip-hop world, there’s nothing worse than being called a snitch,” said Greg Watkins, co-founder of the Web site allhiphop.com. “It can be detrimental to your career, and to your health.”

“There’s a real sense that the federal system is out of whack and that people are being put away for the rest of their lives based on informants,” said Ethan Brown, whose latest book, “Queens Reigns Supreme,” details the rise of hip-hop in Queens in the 1980’s and 90’s. “But I think the industry has perverted a legitimate complaint about the legal system and applied it to all kinds of crime.”

“A lot of this stonewalling is posturing they do to sell records,” Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly said. “But these hip-hop artists are making a lot of money. You’d like to think that there’s some sort of civil responsibility that goes along with that. But apparently there isn’t.”

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