Afroman turns home-raid into a viral rap video

In addition to being a violation of rights, unjustified police raids can often do more harm than good. But at least Afroman was able to get a viral hit from his run-in with the law.

by Tim Cushing of Tech Dirt

Rap artist Afroman’s biggest hit is “Because I Got High,” a track that details how his best intentions were undone by his weed intake. So, one might reasonably suspect marijuana might be found at his residence. But there’s very little that’s reasonable about what happened to Afroman four months ago. 

Earlier this year, he became yet another statistic: a black person whose house was raided by heavily armed officers, all over the supposed existence of drugs and paraphernalia. But it’s not just about the raid. It’s about the damage done, which goes beyond the door officers destroyed en route to finding almost nothing but some loose cash they decided to keep.

After the Adams County Sheriff’s Office conducted a raid on his Ohio property in 2022 with a warrant for drug trafficking and kidnapping, Afroman, real name Joseph Foreman, told VICE he lost out on gigs and felt angry and powerless. He channeled that energy into a pair of songs, “Lemon Pound Cake” and “Will You Help Me Repair My Door,” with music videos that feature actual footage of deputies smashing their way onto his property, rifling through his belongings, and checking out the baked goods sitting on his counter before they cut power to his personal security cameras altogether. Clips from Afroman’s music videos have since gone viral on TikTok. He was never charged with a crime, and maintains that the sheriff’s department stole $400 of his money that they seized during the raid.

Fortunately for Afroman, his cameras were rolling. From that unjustified invasion of privacy, he managed to salvage a viral video, which racked up more than a million views in nine days.

There are few things more satisfying then watching a bunch of dudes dressed for war blunder around a house with increasing frustration as they fail to discover any evidence of the alleged criminal acts they swore were happening in order to secure the search warrant.

Speaking of the search warrant, it’s wild. It not only accuses Afroman of drug trafficking, it claims he’s suspected of kidnapping.

I don’t think the Adams County Sheriff’s Office actually believes Afroman kidnapped anyone. This looks like someone got careless cutting and pasting boilerplate and forgot to delete the part that’s unrelated to the drug allegations the swearing officer pretended he had probable cause to pursue.

This raid is like countless others that occur daily across the nation. And it contains the same casual abuses officers engage in just as regularly. Like the decision to pocket the cash found in the pocket of one of Afroman’s coats… just because. Worse, the Sheriff’s Office pretended $400 of this money never existed, despite being caught on camera taking it. Here’s what Afroman had to say about that in his interview with Vice:

So, that precinct could not investigate itself, so they had a neighboring precinct do it. Now the neighboring precinct is saying it’s just a miscount, but it’s funny how somebody stole or they “miscounted” exactly $400. 

Then there’s another common action taken by law enforcement officers during raids of private property: the controlling of the narrative by eliminating any recordings of their actions they can’t directly control. The officers eventually located Afroman’s home security cameras and disconnected them, leaving part of this search unrecorded. Here’s Afroman again, pointing out the obvious: unplugging cameras just makes cops look guilty as fuck.

According to America, police officers are the good guys. I figured a good guy would want to leave the camera going so he can verify the fact that he is a good guy. I know burglars and crooks and criminals and murderers, they spray paint the cameras. They want to take them down because they don’t want you to see who they are and what they’re doing. So I’m wondering, why is the good guy disconnecting the camera, taking away the verification that he is good?

The footage shows officers rifling through books of CDs, peering into the back of closets, struggling to maintain control of the entrance gate, drawing down on a cake already safely contained in a glass container, and otherwise doing a bunch of cop stuff. What it doesn’t show is the contraband found by officers looking for evidence of drug trafficking and kidnapping: a couple of joints, some (legal) hemp, and a vape pen. Not exactly the haul they thought they’d find. And not enough to sustain criminal charges since medical marijuana is legal in the state and recreational use decriminalized in Cincinnati, where Afroman resides.

Fortunately, there’s a permanent records of these cops and their actions. And it’s set to music, which makes it that much more enjoyable. What’s captured here isn’t an aberration: it’s standard operating procedure for cops all over the nation. It’s the casual abuse of power that’s rarely, if ever, punished by the agencies employing these sad excuses for public servants.