Murdercap Records CEO Jerome Almon has accused Canada and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of trying to stifle a pending $900 million dollar lawsuit aimed at exposing Canada’s alleged racial/border profiling of US rappers.
Almon filed the lawsuit in January 2007 with assistance from the Detroit American Civil Liberties Union.
In it, Almon proclaims he can detail over 80 incidents between 1992 and 2003 where he and US rap stars were illegally detained at the Canada-US border, falsely accused of having a criminal record, and subjected to racist comments from Canadian officials.
In addition to his own experiences, Almon cites examples from DMX, Sean “Diddy” Combs, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, and Eminem.
In 2004, Almon was called before the Canadian Human Rights Commission and was asked to submit a witness list in support of these claims.
According to stats in the lawsuit, blacks make up 80% of secondary inspections at land crossings while whites make up only two percent.
In a recent interview with XXL Magazine, Canadian rap veteran Kardinal Offishall verified the US rappers are indeed targets of profiling.
Over the past five years, Canada has enacted stricter surveillance of rappers, whom the government maintains are a part of the increased gang violence and shootings the country.
The policy is not without controversy, as Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty cited deep-seated feelings of racism that alienates and oppresses black youth.
That factor, and not US rappers, is what McGuinty argues has lead to Canada’s increased gang and gun violence.
Although Condoleezza Rice is a US official, Almon alleges she, along with the state department, have been assisting Canada in covering up its illegal practices.
Rice allegedly helping the Canadian government is something the rap CEO finds dubious, due to her public endorsement of President-elect Barack Obama.
“Hyprocritically, like Spike Lee, Secretary Rice heralded President Obama’s Presidential victory as a great moment for blacks as she gave Canada the green light to continue profiling African-Americans wholsesale, and exploited rap as America’s great cultural ambassador on the official State Department website,” Almon explained to AllHipHop.com “Secretary Rice and disgraced former Inspector General Krongaard will need a Presidential pardon to avoid being indicted for the cover-up.”
A hearing for the lawsuit is scheduled for December 2008.
At press time, there is no word if any of the subpoenaed rap stars and celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey, Spike Lee, 50 Cent, Spike Lee, Colin Powell, Jay-Z, or 50 cent will show up to testify.
Almon is also challenging bills C-254 and bills C-95, Mr. Almon will also seek to challenge Bills C-254 and bills C-95, which is designed to label certain rap music as hate speech and keep it out of Canada.”The State Department has in its possession secret internal Canadian investigative reports admitting that the country is worse at racial profiling than the US…Secretary Rice has sided with Canadian government against African-Americans in what is destined to become ‘The State Department’s Katrina’,” a representative for Almon stated in a press release.
