On October 17 last year, Kashawn Harris, otherwise known as DJ Boogy, played NWA‘s notorious anthem Fuck Tha Police, while police officers tried to scatter an overcapacity crowd in a small Massachusetts pub. That decision landed him in court with a $50 fine for disorderly conduct.
Local police officer Juanita Mejias, who tried to shut the music down wrote in the official report, “I believed at that time the combination of alcohol, the excessive amount of people in the bar and the song that the DJ chose to play at that time was an intentional act by the DJ to incite the crowd which showed a reckless disregard for public safety.”
While it may have been an error of judgement Harris told MassLive he had no intention of inciting a riot, saying “it was just college kids having fun” and that it is frustrating they would think otherwise. “That’s not my background, that’s not where I come from.” He went on to claim that he already had the song cued up and had played a snippet prior to the police entering the venue.
The infamous song has had a long stream of controversy and censorship since its 1988 release, from the FBI sending the group itself a threatening letter of disapproval, to Triple J being banned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1989 after playing the track for six months. Therefore given its shaky past, this incident, while overstated, is no surprise.
It’s also now only a month away until Kendrick Lamar inducts N.W.A into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a move which as Ice Cube said to Rolling Stone, will solidify and legitimatise the group’s mark.
Image: Consequence of Sound