Is Canada Profiling U.S. Rappers?





Jerome Almon, CEO of Detroit-based Murdercap Records, has filed a eyebrow-raising $900 million lawsuit in federal court against the Canadian government, the American State Department and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The suit, apparently prepared for Almon by the chief of Detroit’s American Civil Liberties Union accuses the defendants of “wholesale profiling” of rap artists and African-Americans.


Almon claims that he can document more than 80 instances between 1992 and 2003 during which he was detained and questioned by border guards while trying to enter Canada. He also says that he was periodically and falsely accused of having a criminal record and that racist comments were directed at him by Canadian officials. But according to Almon, the suit is not being filed solely on his behalf.


Almon reportedly mentioned well-documented incidents in which everyone from DMX to 50 Cent to Eminem have been either refused entry or detained while attempting to enter the country. According to Almon, Canada is engaging in profiling based on a government-held belief that rap music can be blamed for an increase in gang violence and violent homicides in Toronto and Vancouver. ” They’re treating us as if we’re criminals,'’ Almon said, adding, “If the Klan had a police force, it would be the border services.'’ The Canadian government has reportedly pointed to a shooting that took place in Toronto in 2003, after a 50 Cent show as an example of the direct connection between rap music and gun violence.


So what’s Condoleezza Rice have to do with this? According to Almon “the State Department has in its possession secret internal Canadian investigative reports admitting that the country is worse at racial profiling than the U.S., yet, Rice has sided with the Canadian government against African Americans in what he says is destined to become ‘The State Department’s Katrina.’”


Almon’s conspiracy theory further alleges that not only is the U.S. State Department aware of Canada’s prejudicial policy, but that it is complicit in a bribery cover-up relating to one of 50 Cent’s aborted Canadian tours.


Further, he alleges that while Canada profiles U.S. rappers, it is protects known Muslim terrorists responsible for U.S. casualties. He also claims Canada has a Rap Intelligence Unit that employs information-sharing with the FBI.


Regardless of how batshit (or not) you find these claims to be, the trial should be fun to follow. Check out this incredible list of alleged witnesses: 50 Cent, Secretary Rice, Jay-Z, P. Diddy, Oprah Winfrey, Colin Powell, Eminem, and Spike Lee.


What do you think? On the one hand these claims sound really outrageous and paranoid, but on the other hand there are facts to back them up. Is there any truth to Almon’s claims?

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"everyday i be hustlin"

oh good song. *downloads*

the only part im not getting is the bribery coverup on the part of the US..what would they have to gain by helping canada cover up racial profiling at their borders? is it really that huge of a policitcal issue between the US and canada that they would go to those lengths? sounds kinda far fetched..... but then again, these days with the issue of racial profiling and "terror" suspects being a touchy issue in canada/us relations, maybe....



bullshit or not, i think theres a bit of truth to the profiling of rap artists and music. im not canadian and ive never been there so i cant speak for that part of it, but even in the us.... as big of a culture as rap music is, theres still a certain "image" people automatically associate with it, and im not just talking old white people. some people of my generation even have a bias against it, and we grew up with it. theres people out there that just dont want to accept it as an art and the people as artists like they do with so many other genres of music. which is pretty fucked up and unfortunate.

50cent has a direct influence on gun violence? PLEASE. more like the other way around. artists like him come out of a world like that and so their art reflects that. its not like they create it and decide to unleash it on the world. that's such a ridiculous and insane statement to make. as if there would be no gun violence if there were no rappers on planet earth