Since Someone Was Asking About X-Raided & The Source, Here is a old article I posted up a few years back. I also had the X-Raided record review for the Unforgiven Vol.1 That was in the Source, but I lost it. Enjoy.
I just found this shit in my huge box of magazines......It is a interesting article. Nothing new, I have heard it all before. I remember reading this and I thought I threw it away. It's not everyday that you see X-Raided in The Source. I kinda remember seeing this on the board back in 99. I also have the record review of "Unforgiven Vol.1", I'll post that up later. Remember I hand typed this shit up.
The Source Magazine: June 1999 Issue Number 117
Ear To The Streets/Music Bytes
Title Of Article: "First Amendment Blues, Lyrics Keep Coming Back To Haunt Rappers In Criminal Trials"
The one thing you can't accuse incarcerated Sacramento-based rapper Anerae Brown (a.k.a. X-Raided) of is being a studio gangster. Soon after he released his first album, Psycho Active, for independent Black Market Records (which sold upwards of 50,000 units), Brown, who'd been gangbanging with a Crip-affiliated set since age 15, ran afoul of the law. On March 15, 1992, the then 17-year-old Brown and three other men drove up to a rival gang members house. Identifying themselves as police, the men kicked down the door and forced their way in. Two shots were fired. The bullets missed their intended target, who wasn’t present at the time. But one shot hit the rivals mother, killing her. Brown, who claims he didn’t fire that fatal shot, was later tried (as an adult) and convicted of murder, along with two of his accomplices, while the alleged shooter, Samuel Maurice Proctor, ended up being acquitted. For his part in the crime, Brown was sentenced to 31 years in Soledad Prison.
Just another case about the wrong path? Well, yes and no. The Brown case may very well be indicative of a larger pattern of law enforcement officials’ method of criminally prosecuting popular rap artists. In the past five years, there have been at least four such cases (including Brown’s) in California where rap lyrics were used as evidence in criminal trials. In 1993, Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks was convicted of bank robbery after his song “Punk Police” was used to implicate him in the infamous “Romper Room” robberies, where several credit unions, banks, and Chuckie Cheese restaurants were robbed. In 1996, lyrics from Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus’s Doggystyle album were admitted as evidence in his trial for the murder of Phillip Woldemariam (for which he was aquitted). In 1998, Shawn “C-Bo” Thomas was arrested after law enforcement officials determined his songs “Deadly Game” and “Desperado Outlaws” violated the conditions of his parole, which specifically prohibited him from making music which “promoted gang lifestyle, criminal behavior, or violence against law enforcement.”
In Brown;s case, Deputy District Attorney Pete Harned, during his closing argument to the jury, referred to Brown as “the gangster rapper, the ringleader.” Early, Brown’s raps, taken from the song “Fuckin Wit a Psycho”, entered into the court record. The lyrics foreshadowed the events of that fateful night: “Kicking down doors, waving gats…I’m killing mama, daddies and nephews/ I’m killing sons, daughters and sparing you”. Harned told THE SOURCE the introduction of X-raided’s lyrics as evidence was necessary “to show Mr. Browns possible association with gangs and the spirit of gang mentality” (under California law, persons convicted of gang-related crimes are subject to mandatory maximum sentencing guidelines). Ironically, Harned says the use of X-Raided’s raps in court was “quite moving”.
Harned, who claims the use of X-Raided’s music, lyrics, and album cover (which depicted the rapper holding the same caliber weapon used in the killing) were “a very small part of the evidence”, doesn’t feel such usage constituted a violation of Browns First Amendment Rights. “In a trial, you can certainly argue that this is just music, this is just an expression”, he says. “But in fact this is what [Brown] did do, and frankly the jury has to reveal to the judge whether it was a plan of intent or indicative of his state of mind.” Yet even Harned finds it somewhat intriguing that the X-raided, Mac Dre, C-Bo, and Snoop Dog cases all took place in California, which incidentally, spends more money on correctional facilities than on educational facilities. “At the time, I had never heard of it being done. But since then, I’ve seen it come up in three or four national cases,” he states.
In an exclusive interview from Soledad, Brown contended that not only were his lyrics taken out of context, but he was convicted in the media before the case ever got to a jury. While awaiting trial, a process that dragged on for four years, his controversial second album “Xorcist” recorded over the phone from jail, was removed from store shelves at Tower Records following a protest by the victims family. This event and details of the trial, were widely reported by the Sacramento Bee. “I felt like the world was after me, because at first the judge was not going to allow the evidence to be used, but the district attorney, he found ways to get stuff into the trial,” Brown says now, adding that he has matured and no longer considers himself a gang banger.
Brown, who ironically wrote C-Bo’s rhymes for “Deadly Game”, feels that rap artists are being unfairly targeted. “Look at DMX, as soon as he dropped his album, all it took was for that female to accuse him of rape. No evidence, no nothing, and the authorities went full steam ahead with that. Snoop’s acquittal was just a matter of money and having the proper attorney.” At press time, Browns court-appointed attorney could not be reached for comment.
Anerae Brown is no angel. That much is clear. He maintains he is not guilty of murder, though he doesn’t deny participating in the incident. But under the law, every defendant, gangsta rapper or nor, is supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. With media bias and public opinion strongly weighted against him, the question of whether Brown received the fair trial he is entitled to or whether rap lyrics are viable as evidence in a trial hangs in the air like gunsmoke. THE END. Damn, that shit took forever.
I just found this shit in my huge box of magazines......It is a interesting article. Nothing new, I have heard it all before. I remember reading this and I thought I threw it away. It's not everyday that you see X-Raided in The Source. I kinda remember seeing this on the board back in 99. I also have the record review of "Unforgiven Vol.1", I'll post that up later. Remember I hand typed this shit up.
The Source Magazine: June 1999 Issue Number 117
Ear To The Streets/Music Bytes
Title Of Article: "First Amendment Blues, Lyrics Keep Coming Back To Haunt Rappers In Criminal Trials"
The one thing you can't accuse incarcerated Sacramento-based rapper Anerae Brown (a.k.a. X-Raided) of is being a studio gangster. Soon after he released his first album, Psycho Active, for independent Black Market Records (which sold upwards of 50,000 units), Brown, who'd been gangbanging with a Crip-affiliated set since age 15, ran afoul of the law. On March 15, 1992, the then 17-year-old Brown and three other men drove up to a rival gang members house. Identifying themselves as police, the men kicked down the door and forced their way in. Two shots were fired. The bullets missed their intended target, who wasn’t present at the time. But one shot hit the rivals mother, killing her. Brown, who claims he didn’t fire that fatal shot, was later tried (as an adult) and convicted of murder, along with two of his accomplices, while the alleged shooter, Samuel Maurice Proctor, ended up being acquitted. For his part in the crime, Brown was sentenced to 31 years in Soledad Prison.
Just another case about the wrong path? Well, yes and no. The Brown case may very well be indicative of a larger pattern of law enforcement officials’ method of criminally prosecuting popular rap artists. In the past five years, there have been at least four such cases (including Brown’s) in California where rap lyrics were used as evidence in criminal trials. In 1993, Andre “Mac Dre” Hicks was convicted of bank robbery after his song “Punk Police” was used to implicate him in the infamous “Romper Room” robberies, where several credit unions, banks, and Chuckie Cheese restaurants were robbed. In 1996, lyrics from Calvin “Snoop Dogg” Broadus’s Doggystyle album were admitted as evidence in his trial for the murder of Phillip Woldemariam (for which he was aquitted). In 1998, Shawn “C-Bo” Thomas was arrested after law enforcement officials determined his songs “Deadly Game” and “Desperado Outlaws” violated the conditions of his parole, which specifically prohibited him from making music which “promoted gang lifestyle, criminal behavior, or violence against law enforcement.”
In Brown;s case, Deputy District Attorney Pete Harned, during his closing argument to the jury, referred to Brown as “the gangster rapper, the ringleader.” Early, Brown’s raps, taken from the song “Fuckin Wit a Psycho”, entered into the court record. The lyrics foreshadowed the events of that fateful night: “Kicking down doors, waving gats…I’m killing mama, daddies and nephews/ I’m killing sons, daughters and sparing you”. Harned told THE SOURCE the introduction of X-raided’s lyrics as evidence was necessary “to show Mr. Browns possible association with gangs and the spirit of gang mentality” (under California law, persons convicted of gang-related crimes are subject to mandatory maximum sentencing guidelines). Ironically, Harned says the use of X-Raided’s raps in court was “quite moving”.
Harned, who claims the use of X-Raided’s music, lyrics, and album cover (which depicted the rapper holding the same caliber weapon used in the killing) were “a very small part of the evidence”, doesn’t feel such usage constituted a violation of Browns First Amendment Rights. “In a trial, you can certainly argue that this is just music, this is just an expression”, he says. “But in fact this is what [Brown] did do, and frankly the jury has to reveal to the judge whether it was a plan of intent or indicative of his state of mind.” Yet even Harned finds it somewhat intriguing that the X-raided, Mac Dre, C-Bo, and Snoop Dog cases all took place in California, which incidentally, spends more money on correctional facilities than on educational facilities. “At the time, I had never heard of it being done. But since then, I’ve seen it come up in three or four national cases,” he states.
In an exclusive interview from Soledad, Brown contended that not only were his lyrics taken out of context, but he was convicted in the media before the case ever got to a jury. While awaiting trial, a process that dragged on for four years, his controversial second album “Xorcist” recorded over the phone from jail, was removed from store shelves at Tower Records following a protest by the victims family. This event and details of the trial, were widely reported by the Sacramento Bee. “I felt like the world was after me, because at first the judge was not going to allow the evidence to be used, but the district attorney, he found ways to get stuff into the trial,” Brown says now, adding that he has matured and no longer considers himself a gang banger.
Brown, who ironically wrote C-Bo’s rhymes for “Deadly Game”, feels that rap artists are being unfairly targeted. “Look at DMX, as soon as he dropped his album, all it took was for that female to accuse him of rape. No evidence, no nothing, and the authorities went full steam ahead with that. Snoop’s acquittal was just a matter of money and having the proper attorney.” At press time, Browns court-appointed attorney could not be reached for comment.
Anerae Brown is no angel. That much is clear. He maintains he is not guilty of murder, though he doesn’t deny participating in the incident. But under the law, every defendant, gangsta rapper or nor, is supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. With media bias and public opinion strongly weighted against him, the question of whether Brown received the fair trial he is entitled to or whether rap lyrics are viable as evidence in a trial hangs in the air like gunsmoke. THE END. Damn, that shit took forever.
