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Papoose protests NYC shooting with “50 Shots”

Posted on December 4, 2006 by plugoneboss Last Friday during his Hot 97 show “The Drama Hour,” DJ Kayslay debuted “50 Shots,” a hastily-recorded track by Papoose. The song instantly made its way around the Internet and drew commentary from several publications, including the New York Times, the Village Voice and Rolling Stone’s “Rock and Roll Daily” blog.

“50 Shots” speaks on the Nov. 25 incident where five undercover New York Police Department officers fired 50 shots at Sean Bell, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield as they drove from a strip club in Queens. While facts surrounding the case are under dispute, the three men, whom were part of Bell’s bachelor party, were unarmed. Bell died from gunshot wounds, while Guzman and Benefield remain hospitalized.

The shooting drew widespread protests and condemnation, with many calling the act an example of police brutality comparable to the 1999 Amadou Diallo shooting.

“No justice no peace/Another black man shot dead in the streets,” raps Papoose over a sped-up sample of Sam Cooke’s “A Change’s Gonna Come.” “If your reason was you thought he carried a gun/That mean you killed him for nothing ’cause he ain’t had one/I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired, son/Hope the change get here before the revolution come.”

Papoose, who is a part of Kayslay’s Streetsweepers camp, is working on his Jive Records debut The Nacirema Dream for release next year. A popular rapper on the mixtape circuit, he’s considered part of the New York street rap renaissance alongside Jae Millz, Grafh, Maino, Saigon and the ever-growing Dipset crew. This entry was posted in News and tagged Papoose. Bookmark the permalink.
