Rapper Afroman faces a lawsuit from Ohio law enforcement officers alleging that he invaded their privacy by using images of them raiding his house.
Afroman (real name Joseph Foreman) had his home raided in August 2022 by the Adam’s County Sheiff’s Office. They were looking for drugs and alleged kidnapping victims.
No charges were filed based on the raid. However, security cameras and footage from Foreman’s wife’s mobile phone were captured. Those images were used in subsequent videos mocking the situation.
“I asked myself, as a powerless Black man in America, what can I do to the cops that kicked my door in, tried to kill me in front of my kids, stole my money and disconnected my cameras?” Foreman said in an NPR interview. “And the only thing I could come up with was make a funny rap song about them and make some money, use the money to pay for the damages they did and move on.”
Four deputies, two sergeants and a detective with the Sheriff’s Office are part of the lawsuit against Foreman. They have requested that all media depicting them be pulled.
“I was thinking, these big bad cops … are being beat up and bullied by those little corny rap songs I made about them,” Foreman said to NPR. “I’m like, ‘Oh my god, are you letting me know that my raps are working on you?’”
Afroman is best known for his song, “Because I Got High.”