Four rappers share stage in New York courts

11/07/2007 5:27 PM, Reuters


The docket at New York State Court on Wednesday read like a who's who of the hip-hop world as four major rap artists faced separate charges, highlighting the fine line between image and reality in U.S. rap music.

Grammy-winning rapper Busta Rhymes faced assault charges. Popular female rapper Remy Ma was accused of shooting and critically wounding a Bronx woman. Lil Wayne and Ja Rule made separate appearances on weapons charges.

The cases were unrelated but their timing meant that the dingy, dimly lit corridors of the Manhattan courthouse were brightened by fans pulling out camera phones to snap pictures of the stars.

"It's a coincidence," said Remy Ma, 26, whose real name is Remy Smith, after learning her trial for the shooting at a Manhattan nightclub will likely begin in the next few months.

Dressed in a gray miniskirt, cobalt blue tights and towering high heels, the Grammy-nominated musician signed autographs and fielded reporters' questions about her clothes.

"I know all of them. They're all my friends," she said of the other three defendants.

Kyra Gaunt, a professor of music and anthropology at Baruch College, said rap artists who emerge from tough neighborhoods like Remy Ma often have problems juggling the desire to stay out of trouble with their brash hip-hop aesthetic.

"Because the genre plays with reality, a lot of people get lost. All of a sudden, the line between representation of reality and reality is no longer separate," said Gaunt.

ASSAULT, WEAPONS CHARGES

Remy Ma, a Bronx native, won the highly rated Black Entertainment Television award for best female hip-hop artist in 2005. If convicted, she faces a maximum sentence of 25 years behind bars for the July 14 shooting of Makeda Barnes-Joseph.

Busta Rhymes, whose real name is Trevor Smith and whose hits include "Dangerous" and "Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See," faces four consecutive trials for two assault and two driving violations.

He has twice turned down a plea deal that would have jailed him for a year in exchange for a guilty plea to four misdemeanor charges.

New Orleans artist Lil Wayne, declared "rapper of the year" by The New Yorker magazine in August, and Ja Rule, who has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide, were arrested separately in July after leaving a Lil Wayne concert in Manhattan.

Police said Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, was found smoking marijuana and carrying a weapon. Ja Rule, whose real name is Jeff Atkins, was stopped an hour earlier by police who said he possessed a .40-caliber handgun.

They both face charges of illegal gun possession. Trial dates have not yet been set.

Lauren Raysor, a lawyer representing Joseph-Barnes, chided the news media for lavishing attention on the accused.

Pointing to this week's Village Voice, whose cover features Remy Ma in a black leotard, she shook her head. "I tell you, they have definitely glorified a criminal," she said.

(Editing by Alan Elsner)