Neu Leonstein
02-09-2006, 12:14
Except that this time the law has the problem, not the rapper.
US rapper arrested for street gig
Saturday Sep 2 15:21 AEST
US rapper Mos Def was given a summons after being arrested for giving an impromptu performance on Thursday night outside Radio City Music Hall where the MTV Video Music Awards were being presented, police said.
A New York City Police Department spokesman said on Friday that Mos Def, whose real name is Dante Smith, had been given a summons for operating a sound reproduction device without a permit.
"He was using a sound system on the street," the spokesman said. When asked if there was a crowd of people watching, the spokesman said: "Of course there was, it was the MTV Awards."
A spokeswoman for Mos Def said he had been unjustly arrested while performing a song about Hurricane Katrina on the back of a flatbed truck outside the MTV awards venue.
"Mos Def did not set out to get arrested or break laws, his only intention was to remind people that after one year the people hardest hit by Katrina still need the support of all Americans," the spokeswoman said in a statement.
She said the rapper had been in the middle of the performance when he was made aware of the police presence and shut everything down.
He was released early on Friday, media reports said.
That's crap. Mos Def has to be on the streets, that's his way of making music. He does a free gig for people outside, he entertains a few people...and he gets arrested for it?
Well, maybe it was noise pollution. Wouldn't wake the neighbours, would we.
Just in case you don't know who he is and what song we're talking about, here are a few links...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2FlcRVTuCA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmqXKbxDoJ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCzreC2g3-8
US rapper arrested for street gig
Saturday Sep 2 15:21 AEST
US rapper Mos Def was given a summons after being arrested for giving an impromptu performance on Thursday night outside Radio City Music Hall where the MTV Video Music Awards were being presented, police said.
A New York City Police Department spokesman said on Friday that Mos Def, whose real name is Dante Smith, had been given a summons for operating a sound reproduction device without a permit.
"He was using a sound system on the street," the spokesman said. When asked if there was a crowd of people watching, the spokesman said: "Of course there was, it was the MTV Awards."
A spokeswoman for Mos Def said he had been unjustly arrested while performing a song about Hurricane Katrina on the back of a flatbed truck outside the MTV awards venue.
"Mos Def did not set out to get arrested or break laws, his only intention was to remind people that after one year the people hardest hit by Katrina still need the support of all Americans," the spokeswoman said in a statement.
She said the rapper had been in the middle of the performance when he was made aware of the police presence and shut everything down.
He was released early on Friday, media reports said.
That's crap. Mos Def has to be on the streets, that's his way of making music. He does a free gig for people outside, he entertains a few people...and he gets arrested for it?
Well, maybe it was noise pollution. Wouldn't wake the neighbours, would we.
Just in case you don't know who he is and what song we're talking about, here are a few links...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2FlcRVTuCA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmqXKbxDoJ0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCzreC2g3-8