As gunplay between two chart-topping gangsta rappers and the trial of a rap diva vie for top headlines this week, federal authorities are pressing a wide-ranging investigation into the $1.5-billion hip-hop music industry, NEWSWEEK has learned.
According to top industry insiders, federal investigators are digging into a playlist of crimes, ranging from extortion and robbery to the industry’s persistent violence and mounting casualtiesâ€â€including the unsolved murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious BIG. Investigators are “asking about anyone in hip hop from what I understand,†says a top music lawyer. Another top lawyer and a prominent entertainment business manager also said they were aware of an investigation. In a NEWSWEEK interview, one influential executive who was questioned recently by investigators adds: “It’s a federal investigation of hip hop and the music business and the crimes that have come out of it.†(more…)
Although the feds have already been conducting their investigation for some time, I say this is a move that is long overdue. Too many people in “the game” have been getting knocked off with very few arrests. This is something that clearly involves more than just the rappers themselves.
Unfortunately, as word begins to spread at a more rapid pace due to this Newsweek article about the government conducting this probe, be prepared for the usual detractors to make this into a “big, bad white government vs. the little guy” issue.
Also be prepared if the feds ever make any arrests, that most of the hip-hop community as well as many blacks will want to immortalize the guilty as “just another black victim” in an unjust system.
Hopefully this will be a topdown investigation as there are plenty of whites that are in the game as well.
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