As police investigate what led to the shooting inside T.I.’s concert at New York’s Irving Plaza yesterday (May 25), authorities are blaming the violence on the nature of rap culture.
NYPD commissioner Bill Bratton spoke with WCBS 880 about the developments of the case.
“The crazy world of the so-called rap artists who are basically thugs that basically celebrate the violence they live all their lives and unfortunately that violence often manifests itself during the performances and that’s exactly what happened last evening,” Bratton says.
One person, now identified as Troy Ave’s friend Banga, was killed in the shooting. Three others were shot, including Troy Ave who was hit in the leg. A 34-year-old man who was shot in the chest was reported in critical condition. The other two victims are in stable condition.
There was reportedly a scuffle between two groups of people prior to the shooting. The incident happened outside of the second-floor green rooms. Uncle Murda and Maino were performing as the opening act for T.I. at the time the shots rang out. The gunfire could be heard over the music and concertgoers rushed towards the exits.
Police are collecting and analyzing evidence, including surveillance footage that shows the shooting.
“Detectives are still interviewing potential witnesses, canvassing for video and looking for cameras in the area that can identify people that were there that witnessed the scene,” Manhattan Chief of Detectives William Aubrey says. “We have recovered ballistic evidence and the crime scene search is continuing at this time.”
Aubrey adds that the security measures at the venue will be taken into consideration. Concertgoers passed through a security check and metal detector to get into the venue, but reports say the strictness of the measures was not up to par.
Irving Plaza has released a statement via Twitter.
“The safety of our guests is of the utmost importance,” the venue says. “Until we have further details about what transpired, we are referring all inquiries to the NYPD.”
View Irving Plaza’s Tweets and CBS New York’s news story below:
I agree with him its 2016 we dont need this fuckin shit people gunnin people down over dumb shit and thats what not all rap but alot of rap perpetuates guns bitches and gangstas just like at a T.I concert mr big gang banget according to his shit then you got dipshit troy ave and his group of fuckin idiots who think they so gangsta grow the fuck up all its doing is costing people lives for some dumb fucking persona
You’re an idiot. Lean to use punctuation. Troll.
so wait all you got from his comment was his lack of punctuation but you misspelled the word learn . i find that ironic but do me a favor go get molested by your uncle and leave real conversations to grown folks
Ok response to kll and dynomite your both fucking idiots and ooooooooo spelling patrol on the loose son my god im typing on my smart phone and obviously do not give a fuck to punctuate or correct 1 letter in my spelling learn is pretty easy to spell whats hard is your stupid ass learning how to get outa that mcdonalds job or sweepin floors somewhere and earn more than $30,000 a year and actualy make money to where you stop trying to correct peoples spelling like a little bitch which is funny to me and nah im good but ill enjoy my hot wifey later while you enjoy ol palmula handersom and some nivea you little bitch and oh yea i forgot about numb nuts if im an idiot for saying gang banging shit needs to stop and black youngins coming up need better role models then wannabe gangsters glamourizing something they dont even understand then do me a favor and go hang out with some of the bangers down on the oldest brokest block in your city with everything valuable you own with you get shot over it and bleed out in the streets for me since you think thats so cool the new schools got it right starting to work away from that wannabe gangster shit and are trying to set examples for the black community
i wasn’t replying to u. i was replying to kll but of course hhdx comment section system is all out of wack especially when it says please wait and your not sure your shit posted or not but ur reply nonetheless is funny
i wasn’t replying to u. i was replying to kll but of course hhdx comment section system is all out of wack especially when it says please wait and your not sure your shit posted or not but ur reply nonetheless is funny
does anybody appreciate the irony of hip hop sites decrying this man’s words and accusations, and yet hip hop sites are reporting on the shooting itself? if it’s not related to rap and hip hop you wouldn’t be posting it on these sites. you can’t say it’s related and unrelated at the same time you mooks.
Starting to seem Troy’s crew was the intended target
Just great so now all rappers outside of new york (and within) and want to perform in NYC be prepared to get harassed to highest degree by hiphop police. Troy Ave reckless mouth caused all of this and gave NYPD green light to go ham on rappers now like never before. Summer Jam around the corner, i bet shit going to get interesting when NYPD gets involved in that event. Dumb Niggaz
You can tell this old white man don’t like blacks. He’s from that old racist generation.
How about he talks about the lost live not try to say he had it coming for being a thug. Punk ass cop
Off course!! blame the messenger not the culprit…the idiot who just offed his own kinfolk over some dumbshit gets a pass in your book yeah ? talking about the live lost uselessly is irrelevant …this repetitious street violence story has been told too many times . Mentioning the folks who died will not bring them back . For once Black American youths HEAR! and accept responsibility where it lies… Yourselves!! .. stop attributing your current ill consideration for your fellow blacks to the white mans racism .. this person who was shot was killed by his OWN!!… not a cop , not a white man ,not Chinese , not Latino .but a fellow Negro!..so cut it out
Bill Bratton keepin it 100.
Look at the Majority of artists that this site promotes. Most of the stories on here are shootings and beef all the time. What venue owner wants to book these kinds of artists when they attract a certain type of fan. This ” Rap” culture glorifies guns and violence so don’t be mad when it happens at your shows. Troy Ave, Game, Bobby Shmurda, Chief Keef and all the other horrible black rap groups that have no talent. We want to call an old white man racist but he’s not the one who shot anyone or the one that gave you the gun. We need to wake up black people and stop doing the Devils work. We bathe in ignorance and then get mad we our card gets pulled.
Love how it’s raps fault lmfao let me guess gangsta rap made me do it?? Just blame it on the song u can do anythang
Nothing racist about the commissioners comments … I am black and %1000 agree with his comments and more name any other music genre where patrons get shot during a concert ? Black lives only matter when a non-white cop kills a black man , but black folks offer each other like roaches is meant to be a norm ..GTFO
**non-black* ..*white cop*
I didn’t say he was idc if ur black u can Google w.e u want black on violence has lot to do with most black people Iiving near other black people so when there’s crime it’s black on black.. my point stays the same tho your responsible for your own actions Idgaf what song u herd music won’t make u do anything
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Commissioner might have a point here tho. The so called rappers of today glorifying and snitching on themselves and shit.
Bratton isn’t racist he’s just stating the facts. Some of you just dont like the truth. You live by the sword you die by the sword. You can’t rap about violence and not expect something. The problem is sometimes its innocent bystanders that get hurt or killed.
he’s prolly a racist, but what he’s saying is the truth
#GetThisShitOuttaHipHop
No this is the failure of New York City to end poverty and police brutality in the ghettos of NYC. There would be no violence in music if poverty, poor education, and police brutality were not occurring in the ghettos of AmeriKKKa.
y
You’re an idiot lol
I knew when I went to the comments of this article that so-called “black” commenters would be defending the commissioner. Stories like this always outs their true identity. Is some of hip-hop violent? Yep. But he’s wrong with his words just like I would be to say that “so-called whites” hate minorities. Be clear with what you’re saying. All hip-hop artists aren’t violent or thugs just like all white people don’t dislike minorities. Is it so hard to understand that everything in this world is not all or nothing?
Thank you!
dude I am 500% blacker than you can possibly be so doooonnnnntttt even go there fam …. I have stayed in my grandmothers village , i grew up next to people living in shanty towns , I have seen poverty in parts of the motherland that will make you shudder …so dont even start with this whose black who isnt rah rah ..the creator in his wisdom did not designate black Americans to speak for the rest of us. ..This commissioner is stating the Obvious!!…how many damn times have you heard this same repititious news ? if I didnt know any better one would think todays black American youths are on a quest to extinct themselves..show me a patron who got shot during an EDM concert ? **crickets* show me a patron who got shot during a classical concert **crickets* show me an article of someone getting shot during a Jazz concert **crickets** …This has ZERO to do with race and %100 to do with IGNORANCE of the peoples involved ..take it or leave it
dude I am 500% blacker than you can possibly be so doooonnnnntttt even go there fam …. I have stayed in my grandmothers village , i grew up next to people living in shanty towns , I have seen poverty in parts of the motherland that will make you shudder …so dont even start with this whose black who isnt rah rah ..the creator in his wisdom did not designate black Americans to speak for the rest of us. ..This commissioner is stating the Obvious!!…how many damn times have you heard this same repititious news ? if I didnt know any better one would think todays black American youths are on a quest to extinct themselves..show me a patron who got shot during an EDM concert ? **crickets* show me a patron who got shot during a classical concert **crickets* show me an article of someone getting shot during a Jazz concert **crickets** …This has ZERO to do with race and %100 to do with IGNORANCE of the peoples involved ..take it or leave it
I hadn’t read your comment before making mine but by your response, I guess the hit dog does holler. So already I can tell you have some bias against Black Americans since you’re apparently “500% blacker” than I am. Happy for you.
Here are some articles of two separate jazz concert shootings. That should silence the crickets:
http://www.denverpost.com/2012/06/24/police-officer-killed-at-denvers-city-park-jazz-festival/
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/denver-police-officer-killed-trying-to-break-up-fight-at-jazz-in-the-park-concert-series/
Now clearly there are more shootings at hip-hop concerts. I won’t dispute that.
My original issue still goes back to the words of the NYPD commissioner: “The crazy world of the so-called rap artists who are basically thugs”. ALL rap artists are not thugs and don’t celebrate violence. But you have someone in a position of power that is too stupid to not be reckless with his words. That’s like me in the 80s saying that all rock artists were Satan worshippers. Even if one was, you can’t classify an entire group. And don’t be naive to think this isn’t about race. You know good and well when the ‘thug’ term is thrown out who it is directed at.
Bias against Black Americans ? why when after all we share the same skin color , but unequivocally I am biased against IGNORANCE , inability to show responsibility for Your own actions …do not always make every issue about race and poverty you said “Black commenter” implying that blacks or possibly non-black who support this commissioners reprimand do not see the underlying issue of racism … when after all its you who fails to call a spade a spade …since when does killing your OWN people gets a pass ? ….I care less if these people had some sort of beef prior to the concert the point is these guys who killed themselves are not saints , Thugs and Cowards appropriately describes them ..if it upsets you try sleep it off…. You and I both know all rappers are not thugs ..that is NOT the point …ITS ABOUT BLACK on BLACK crimes always gets look at as just another day in the park by black folks ..why does this news not upset you the same why as if a cop or a white person did it ?..Blacklives shouldnt only matter when cops or non-blacks are involved thats like cherry picking your pains and problems …and concerning you cricket rebuttal ..fights break out anywhere heck people can get shot in a toilet in Walmart random violence happens Yes I am aware …..you sir are missing the point this ONE occurrence took place in 2012 !! fam….now google the same headline for Hiphop concerts ? ..It clearly irks me more when a black person kills another black person SENSELESSLY …in my eyes that killer is worse than the KKK and Donald Trump mix together because to reiterate you are KILLING your OWN!!…. we all come from the lineage of struggles and pain……but yet some of us still feel this need snuff a fellow black life without fear or favor over some dumbshit
@Truesayer If you agree with the commissioner, good for you. I just know that when white people are referring to ‘thugs’, they’re never referring to white people. I’ve read articles and visited the Fox News website enough to know who they are talking about. White people commit crimes all of the time but don’t get the same thug moniker but if you’re cool with it, so be it. Yeah, I understand that the incident happened in 2012, you asked me to find violence at a jazz concert which I did. Once again, it’s not all or nothing. I fully agree that we as Black people should be very concerned with Black on Black violence and it shouldn’t get a pass or overlooked. The truth is the shooting should never have occurred. And at some point, we have to take a look at what is causing all of this (and it ain’t only hip-hop, shitty parenting plays a role) Like I said before, my issue in this article is with the NYPD commissioner using broad strokes to paint a genre of music as all bad. It’s not. You obviously have bad people doing bad things within hip-hop. But target those people. I don’t go and say that all white people are “evil hillbillies” because one killed innocent people in a church. That would be stupid.
@Krunk …Please go see the recent video footage of Troy Ave being the actual shooter if this doesn’t boil your blood with anger …heaven help you ..Im OUT.
Yep, I saw it. He’s a dumbass.
You can’t blame a music culture for the poor decision making of those involved in it. It is not the music’s fault but it is the fault of those who can’t control themselves and be civil. The commissioner is wrong to blame the culture rather than blaming the individuals who continue to be detriments to the culture. This is what is wrong with those who are not involved in the culture, they judge from the outside and blame everyone rather than the individuals. The same thing this commissioner said about rap music can be applied to the culture of the police in making poor judgments and being quick to respond with violent actions.
Music and cultures that glorify death and drugs, will produce individuals that glorify death and drugs.
That is true for some people but it is up to that person to act out in violence and associate it with their culture. As I said you can’t blame the culture and the music when not every aspect of it and all of its followers actually act in violent manners. Generalization is not how we should interpret these situations in blaming an entire culture instead of looking at the people that are involved in the situation and making this an isolated event as that is what this event is.
Gotta agree with you 1000% on this one
Go listen to Boosie Bad Azz and get some education from a real thug. Go listen to his new joint “Wake Up” feat Pimp C.
“You should’ve stayed in school fool, but you want to be a Menace” ~ Boosie
Translation: “We couldn’t wait for one of you black bitches with a platform to do some shit that we could use to justify our bigotry, prejudice and habitual misconduct.”
I agree the music breeds the surrounding environment. No ones getting shot up at Kendrick Lamar or J. Cole concert. I remember when Maino was on MTV for a documentary and he choked out the host lol. Certain artists attract certain people.
Im a huge Hip Hop head and will always be. What the NYPD just said is very much true. Hip Hop and rap was never about glorifying selling drugs, stripping and gang-banging. When NWA came out, they werent glorifying sh**, it was really rough out there and they talked about stuff that the media won’t. Rap has been taking over and its being taken advantage of. LoOok at Bobby and see what happens when you really about the stuff you rap about. 99.5% of these rappers nowadays are fake gangsta rappers and the only victims are the people that believe them and IMITATE them. Its not purely rap’s fault but it has a lot to do with it.