People are looking at the mayor with the tilted head after he sided with police over the community over the DRAPOLLO Gate, where officers filmed every person as they exited the epic concert performance on Saturday, Jan. 21.

NYTimes journalist Jon Caramanica broke the story on Twitter, posting a picture with the caption, “NYPD video recording every person leaving the Drake Apollo show 🧐.”

In rebuttal of their actions, the NYPD said the footage was going to be used for social media, despite not asking fans to sign image releases, according to The Gothamist,

“The officer depicted in the video is a Community Affairs officer involved with the 28th Precinct’s social media team,” read a statement from the police force. “The officer was taking video for an upcoming Twitter post that will highlight local community events. The video will not be utilized for any other reason.”

Will Owen, of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, an anti-surveillance and privacy rights group, wasn’t buying it.

“The NYPD’s use of a video recording device on Hip-Hop fans at a historic institution of Black performance in Harlem is highly concerning,” Owen said.

Adding, “This is yet another example of NYPD’s racist use of surveillance technology, following the department’s long legacy of targeting rap concerts. We’re deeply concerned facial recognition may have been involved, and demand the department destroy any footage it took. This is the latest proof that the city and state must ban its use at venues once and for all.”

On Monday, Jan. 23, Mayor Eric Adams addressed the issue at a news conference in the Bronx.

He said the pushback is coming from a few folks and not “everyday New Yorkers.”

He also said, “Thumbs up to that great captain,” referring to Captain Tarik Sheppard, who is over the 28th Precinct.

“And I encourage all of my commanding officers to be creative on how we engage with our residents,” the mayor continued to say, “That was a safe event,” and adding, “Those who are naysayers find reasons to complain about everything. That’s not reality. Let them keep complaining.”

Jeffrey Fagan, a Columbia University law professor who is an expert on policing, took issue with this concept of safety— arguing seeing officers taping them probably made them feel the opposite.

“I doubt anyone there felt safer because the NYPD was creating a digital record of their time at the Apollo to hear a Black music artist,” he said.

One New Yorker lost his life after relieving himself on the subway tracks in Manhattan. While peeing, he fell off the platform and was struck by an oncoming train.

NYPD stated the incident happened on Tuesday, Jan. 24 in the wee hours of the morning, around 1:30 a.m. at the Broadway-Lafayette St. station in the Soho area of the city. 

The conductor was operating a downtown A train line, according to the Daily News, on the F line. This is not uncommon that MTA subway trains are switched up at night in New York City.

After the victim, whose name is being withheld from the public, started urinating in the tracks, he lost his balance and fell. He was then tragically and fatally hit by the train and died onsite.

MTA has been taking steps to detect when people pee on or around trains in an effort.

According to The City, in December 2022, top officials said they are looking into how Boston and Atlanta have installed devices to not only detect urine on the modes of public transportation but will also alert cleaning crews to the area where the gadget finds the nasty work.

Relatives of Nipsey Hussle are fighting his 14-year-old daughter’s mother for guardianship. Less than five years after his death, the family has not come to an amicable agreement regarding Emani’s custody and is headed to court.

RadarOnline reports Tanisha Foster, the girl’s mom, will be meeting the family members, including Black Sam, his older brother, sister Samantha, and mother Angelique, in a Los Angeles Superior Court to settle the lodging and support matter. The trial date is set for Apr. 27.

History around the fight for custody finds roots almost after his Mar. 31, 2019, death. Back then, the family accused Foster of being an unfit parent with a known history of drug and alcohol abuse. Most recently the two parties attended a mediation on Nov. 20, 2022, but were not able to move forward with an agreement both sides were comfortable with.

The family points to her behavior as one of the reasons why they want the child removed from the child from the mother’s home.

The filing stated, “Obviously, the behavior summarized herein endangered Emani’s well-being, but such behavior also makes Ms. Foster wholly unfit to act as guardian of the estate and be able to manage Emani’s inheritance expected to exceed two million dollars ($2,000,000).”

Her response?

The mother believes the family has reneged on their promises to her regarding the care of Emani and according to Foster’s lawyers, “Tanisha’s motivation for doing so was in recognition of her own financial limitations.”

Adding, she only wants to “maintain the standard of living and family contact the minor had experienced with the paternal family prior to her father’s death; and upon the verbal assurances that each of them would act in the best interests of Emani.”

Every week SZA cements her name in the record books next to R&B legends thanks to her critically-acclaimed SOS studio LP.

Last week, SZA reached the 1990s-era Billboard 200 chart milestones of notable performers TLC and Mariah Carey. This week, the Top Dawg Entertainment songstress achieved a feat not seen since Usher Raymond in the mid-2000s.

SOS remained atop the most recent Billboard 200 rankings for a sixth consecutive week. SZA became the first R&B act, male or female, to control that album chart at least six times since Usher’s 2004 classic Confessions.

SZA will have to place in the pole position three more times to accomplish the nine-nonconsecutive-week reign of Confessions. She already matched the last time a female R&B singer pulled off a six-week run at No. 1 – Carey’s Daydream in 1995/1996.

In addition, SOS is the first female R&B album to spend its first six weeks at No. 1 since Janet Jackson’s janet thirty years ago. SZA also joined Adele and Taylor Swift as the only women to have an album spend at least six weeks at No. 1 in the last thirteen years.

SOS brought in additional 119,000 equivalent album units in week six of its release. The SOS track “Kill Bill” is also performing well on the Billboard Hot 100. “Kill Bill” has already peaked at #2 on that weekly chart.

SZA earned her first Number One on the Billboard 200 with SOS. Previously, the New Jersey native made it to No. 3 with 2017’s Ctrl. The 33-year-old vocalist’s 3x-Platinum debut album has remained on the Billboard 200 for over 290 weeks.